Connections Intertwining
by Puja723
Summary: Sequel to Connection Between Hearts and Unbreakable Connection. Levina and Lira are reunited. They're trials in the alternate Twilight Town shake destined events. They join Sora, Donald and Goofy and help aid them in their battle with Organization 13. New revelations are revealed about Master Xehanort's true intentions. Will the heroes of light succeed in stopping the darkness?
1. Twilight Town

**Connections Intertwining**

* * *

**Alright new story! The sequel to Connection Between Hearts. I'm excited to start the KH 2 story line! **

**There's so much world exploring and twists in KH 2! I can't wait to get to it in the fic! **

**Enjoy the first chapter! **

**Diclaimer - Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square-Enix and Disney**

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Chapter 1 – Twilight Town

Twilight Town was one of the largest worlds known. It is located in between light and darkness, similar to the Land of Departure, Castle Oblivion, Traverse Town and The World That Never Was. As its name implies, this world's sun is always in the same position in the sky, never rising nor setting.

Roxas woke up from his sleep. He was in the familiar setting of his room in Twilight Town. He rubbed his eyes yawning. He had a very strange dream, about another boy who looked almost like him.

'_That "dream" about him again…_' Roxas thought wearily as he sat up on his bed.

"ROXAS!" Roxas heard someone calling to him from the window.

The boy jolted out of bed opening the window. He smiled at the familiar sites of his friends; Hayner, Pence, and Olette. They were his best friends.

"Did you oversleep again?" Olette asked.

"C'mon we gotta move!" Hayner told him.

"Don't you want to find out where that weird ship crashed?" Pence asked.

"Sorry!" Roxas apologized. "I'm coming!" He quickly changed into his clothes and dashed out his room.

* * *

Roxas regrouped with his friends and they went to their hiding spot in the back alley which they called the usual spot. It was their special place where they would hang out together and talk or do homework for school.

'_Recently I keep having the same person appear in my dreams_,' Roxas thought as he ran off to meet with his friends. _'In the dream I become him…with unknown friends_.' He sighed as Hayner kept babbling something about false accusations in town as well as the mysterious ship that crashed in the woods near the Twilight Town mansion. 'It's a strange feeling.'

"Roxas! Are you listening?!" Hayner yelled.

"Huh?" Roxas looked up. "Sorry what?"

Hayner growled in frustration. "Listen carefully!" He yelled. "We're talking about how we're gonna clear those false accusations!"

"Oh…," Roxas nodded not interested at all in the conversation. "False accusations…"

Hayner huffed and walked over to Roxas. He realized that his friend wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying. "STOP DAYDREAMING AND LISTEN!" He screamed.

"Hayner, calm down!" Olette scolded the boy. "There's been increasing thefts in town, recently."

"Seifer and the others are spreading the word that we're the ones responsible." Pence said.

"So that's why…." Roxas mused remembering what had happened on his way to meet with his friends. '_The bookstore was closing when I went to buy a reference book for homework…I stepped in gum…and was chased by a dog… and the moment there was eye contact, the street shops all closed.' _ He sighed. "I feel like I've been having more bad luck than usual."

His friends looked at him strangely wondering what he was talking about.

"In any case!" Hayner stood up with pride. "If Seifer and his gang thinks they can put the blame on us we can't forgive them!" He yelled. "Let's beat the crap outta them!"

Pence, Olette, and Roxas weren't paying attention to Hayner's angry outbursts.

"How about finding the real culprit?" Roxas asked. "Clearing suspicion is our top priority, right?"

"It is?" Hayner asked putting down a spiked bat. He would rather fight Seifer than find the real culprit of the crime.

"That sounds like a good idea!" Pence agreed.

Hayner shot his fist into the air. "We'll wring out the real culprits!" He boasted. "ALRIGHT LET'S GO! Everybody follow me!" He took charge and started walking about of the usual spot.

"Wait, I'll get the camera!" Pence said walking over to a box of miscellaneous things. He smiled picking up a smile camera.

Roxas sat back in his seat.

"Roxas…" Olette smiled at him. "That was a good idea.

"Thanks." Roxas smiled lightly.

"HURRY UP!" Hayner spat at his friends.

They all suddenly heard Pence scream in terror. "This is bad!" The chubby boy yelled. "We've been robbed too!"

"What?!" Hayner exclaimed.

"It's gone!" Pence yelled. "Last year's important…" For some strange reason he couldn't recall what was stolen.

"What did you say?" Hayner asked.

"I was saying everyone's…" Pence stopped as he tried to say the word, the item that was stolen but he couldn't.

"Are you screwing around Pence?" Hayner asked.

"No… wait…" Pence protested, but every time the boy tried saying the thing that was stolen he couldn't get himself to say it.

"It's true, it's gone…" Olette said.

"Our…'is'…" Roxas couldn't even say what was stolen.

"See?!" Pence proclaimed. "You can't say it, the 'word'."

Hayner and Olette tried saying the word too, but they couldn't either and began to panic.

"Was the word stolen by the thieves too?" Hayner wondered.

"Wait where'd that concept come from?" Pence asked. The suddenly drifted off into a world of his own. "It's like a fairy tale story…" He beamed. "This is like an occult experience!"

The four friends looked at the blank frame covered in seashells which Pence held in his hand. There used to be a picture inside it, but now it was gone.

"Don't act so happy!" Hayner yelled. "Let's find the culprit that stole our word!"

* * *

The four friends headed to the Sandlot. Along the way they saw posters for a 'Struggle' match coming up. The match would be held soon and the winner would get a prized trophy and a championship belt.

They saw two people hanging around the Sandlot. One was a boy and the other was a girl. He has tan skin and short black hair with longer sideburns. For his age he is tall and very muscular. His clothes now consist of an orange tank top and baggy dark sweatpants over wide shoes, giving him the look of a basketball player. Around his neck, he wore a thunderbolt necklace as His orange tank top also sports two thunderbolts on the upper back near the arms. The number 8 on his pants etched into his pants.

The girl was wearing a blue sleeveless jacket and Capri pants. Her pants have irregularly placed pockets: one on her right thigh and one on her lower left leg. Her hair was roughly jaw-length and light steel blue, while her eyes appear to be red or reddish brown. Her left eye is covered by her long bangs. She wore shoes of the same color as her hair that somewhat resemble crocs.

"Seifer and them must know something!" Hayner growled to his friends angrily as they watched from a safe and hidden distance.

"Maybe we should ask them." Roxas suggested.

"No way! We aren't asking them anything!" Hayner shouted.

Roxas suddenly yelled as he was suddenly shoved into his friends.

"What are you sneaking around for?" An arrogant voice asked.

"Seifer!" Hayner sneered.

Seifer grinned as his blue-green eyes stared at the small kids in front of him. Strands of blonde hair could be seen from the black hat that he wore. He was wearing a black tuque with the word ore, which meant masculine or sometimes vulgar. The older teen was also wearing a blue crop-top vest with white lining underneath a floor-length white jacket. He has baggy, aborigine colored pants, with the legs tucked into black combat boots with light blue laces.

"Hey you guys!" Seifer called to his friends. "We've been targeted by sneaky thieves!"

"What did you say?!" Hayner barked ready lunge at the older teen, but Roxas yelled him back.

"What's wrong with calling a sneaky theif a sneaky theif," Seifer smirked. "You sneaky theif!"

"You can't be forgiven!" Rai agreed with his leader.

"Robbers!" Fuu added.

The four friends noticed someone else with them. A small boy, his name was Vivi.

He was wearing an oversized wizard hat, the tip flops over and curls and an open zipper resembling a mouth in the middle of the hat, and two "eyes" just above this, shaped like a pale green star on the left and another, oblong shape on the right. He was wearing a sky blue coat with fancy, dark blue lining, secured by a tan string tied. The white cuffs of this jacket are over-sized and sport similar lining to the rest of the jacket. The sleeves cover half of his hands, which are themselves covered by brown gloves. The boy's face and body, partially visible under his jacket which was pitch black. His oval eyes are almost glowing yellow. His pants are green and held up by a brown belt.

"YOU'RE THE ONES SPREADING THAT CRAP!" Hayner screamed trying to get out of Roxas's grip trying to get at Seifer.

Seifer ignored Hayner's anger and directed his attention to Roxas. "Roxas!" He said.

Roxas looked at Seifer while maintaining his grip on his friend.

"Don't ignore me!" Hayner yelled. "Where'd you put it?!" He demanded. "Our word!" He growled.

"You wanted to erase the proof of your defeat, so you stole it, right?" Seifer grinned.

Many times over the four friends would often find themselves in conflict with Seifer and his gang, especially during the Struggle matches. Roxas would always be up against Seifer and Seifer would always win.

Roxas let go of Hayner glaring at the older teen in front of him. "Don't treat people like thieves whenever you feel like it!" He yelled.

"Hey Seifer, why don't you show that kid whose boss around here?" Fuu suggested.

Hearing this suggestion Seifer laughed. "Sounds good to me!" The teen picked up a blue Struggle bat off the ground and tossing it to Roxas. "Take it!" He said pointing his own Struggle bat at Roxas. "I'll make you kneel before me again!"

Roxas held the Struggle at in his hands similarly as he held the keyblade once.

Roxas's friends and Seifer's gang cheered.

Roxas blocked Seifer's swing as he saw the older teen run at him.

"What's the matter?!" Seifer sneered. "Get serious!"

Roxas flew back and held onto his Struggle bat as Seifer knocked him over. The boy glared at his opponent and charged forward swinging his own bat at the older teen disarming Seifer of his weapon.

Roxas pointed the Struggle bat at Seifer's chest as he caught his breath.

Defeated, Seifer fell to the ground in disappointment.

"Seifer!" Fuu cried out.

"It's cause Seifer's now in the process of adjusting for the tournament!" Rai tried coming up with a good excuse over Seifer's defeat.

"Roxas!" Pence called to his friend holding his camera.

Roxas looked over holding the Struggle bat in his hand as Pence took his picture.

"You're so lame Seifer!" Hayner taunted.

Suddenly out of nowhere a Dusk floated over snatching the camera out of Pence's hands and floated away.

"What's that?!" Olette exclaimed.

"It stole the camera!" Pence said.

"So he's the culprit?!" Hayner assumed.

"Which way did it go?" Roxas wondered. He spotted the Dusk running into the Market district. "There!" He quickly ran chasing after the Dusk.

* * *

"Stupid piece of junk!" Lira furiously kicked the gummi ship. "I don't understand how it could crash!" She examined the fuel gauge of the ship and saw that it was empty on smile fuel. "Are you kidding me?!" She yelled in frustration. "This thing really runs on happy faces!"

"So if we smile, the ship will work?" Levina asked.

Lira frowned at the ship's condition. There was no way the ship would be able to run now, no matter how hard they smiled.

"We need to get it fixed." Lira said.

"How?" Levina asked. "We don't have any munny left!" She told the older woman showing her empty pockets.

Lira sighed running her fingers through her hair looking around the forest. There was something off about Twilight Town, but she couldn't place it.

They both suddenly heard footsteps approaching them.

"Come on!" Lira dragged Levina towards the mansion. She wasn't about to let anything happen to Levina after her ordeal with Organization 13.

* * *

Roxas followed the Dusk through the forest and towards the Twilight Town mansion.

"A haunted house?" He wondered gaping at the large mansion. He looked around for the Dusk that had Pence's camera. "Where did it go?"

The Dusk suddenly appeared in front of Roxas's face.

_"I've come to meet you._" A voice echoed in Roxas's head. _"We are the masters."_

"Huh?" Roxas blinked in confusion. "I-Is it talking to me?" He wondered.

The Dusk straightened and was now taller than Roxas. It looked like it was ready to attack.

Roxas held the Struggle bat in his hand tightly. "What do you want?!"

The Dusk lunged at him.

"Get away!" Roxas yelled swinging the Struggle bat at the strange creature, but he bat didn't even faze him. '_I can't even lay a scratch on him.' _ He thought dismally. "What is this thing!?"

Levina and Lira were watching Roxas through the window from the mansion.

"It's Roxas!" Levina beamed in delight. She noticed how different he looked. "We should help him!"

"No we shouldn't!" Lira gently scolded Levina. "Even if he's your friend, he's still a part of Organization 13! I'm not going through getting you back if you get caught by them again!"

Levina lowered her head. "But…" She frowned and watched as more Dusks appeared.

Roxas saw that he was surrounded by more Dusks. '_Why didn't they come with me?_' He thought of his friends. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" He yelled for them.

Levina couldn't take it, she didn't want to lose another friend. The girl made her Starlight keyblade appear and ran out to help Roxas.

"Levina!" Lira yelled to her and followed taking out her sword.

Levina swung her keyblade at the un-human Nobodies making them fall back.

Roxas looked at her as she fought. '_Whose she?'_ He wondered.

The Dusks fell to the floor and began to regroup.

Levina caught her breath and smiled at Roxas. "Roxas!" She yelled hugging the boy. "It's so good to see you!"

Roxas blinked and gently shoved Levina off him. "Who are you?" He asked.

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun. What do you guys think of the first chapter? **

**My knowledge of Final Fantasy 8 is limited xD So I don't know if I have Seifer, Rai, and Fuu in character. But I absolutely adore Vivi from Final Fantasy 9! I demand Zidane, Garnet/Dagger, and Steiner in KH 3 Square-Enix! **

**Hmm maybe I'll put them in later chapters :D **


	2. The Intruder

**Here's the next chapter everyone! Just to let you know, I'm going take my time with Roxas's summer vacation in Twilight Town for character development and other shenanigans. **

**I'm really happy with the response this fic is getting :D You guys are awesome! **

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Chapter 2 – The Intruder

Levina looked at Roxas stunned. "What do you mean 'who am I'?" She asked him. "Don't you remember me?"

"Levina!" Lira shouted swinging her sword at the group of Dusks. She angrily glared at the small girl. "I thought I told you not to go near him!"

Levina lowered her head. "I'm sorry Lira," She apologized and then looked back at Roxas. "He doesn't even remember me."

"What?" Lira asked and lightly glared at Roxas. "What kind of friend are you?!" She yelled. "How can you forget one of your friends?!"

Roxas was completely confused as to what was going on. '_Who are these people?_' He thought dismally. '_I've never even met them before!_'' He then saw the Dusks moving again. "Hey look out!" He called out to them.

Both Lira and Levina turned around at the group of Dusks. The creatures from the world between light and darkness surrounded the two girls forming a cage around them using their flexible bodies.

"Let us out!" Lira seethed casting fire on them.

The Dusks flinched, but they still maintained their hold. These two weren't their target. Their target was Roxas.

'_Are those creatures ghosts?'_ He thought and held his Struggle bat in his hand. He watched as the Dusks lunged at him. "There are a lot of you guys!" Roxas tried blocking and attacking the Dusks with his weapon, but the bat just went right through them. '_No matter how many times I attack them, it doesn't work._' He then saw Levina swinging her keyblade at the Dusks. The moment the keyblade touched one of the Dusks surrounding her and Lira, the Dusk would disappear.

'_She's able to fight them off using that key-shaped weapon?_' Roxas thought and fell over as one of the Dusks knocked him down. "Where are Hayner and the others?!" Roxas shouted wishing his friends had come with him. '_I've gotta run!' _He thought.

The Dusks that were surrounding Lira and Levina all jumped at Roxas. They latched onto his foot as the boy tried running.

"Roxas!" Levina cried out. She looked at Lira pleadingly. "We have to help him!"

"Do we really have to help him?" Lira groaned irritated by what was going on.

"Let go…!" Roxas squirmed trying to shake the Dusks off his leg.

"Let him go right now!" Levina ran towards the Dusks with her Starlight keyblade in hand, but she stopped as the Dusks towered over Roxas.

"Great there's no way we can attack now." Lira growled as she saw the Dusks use their bodies to trap Roxas.

"Let me out!" Roxas yelled holding the Struggle bat in his hands. He then saw a dark corridor open up.

"Oh no!" Levina feared the worst.

'_Is Organization 13 behind this?'_ Lira thought looking at the familiar dark portal. She took Levina's arm and pulled her back. '_If they think they're going to take Levina again, it'll be over my dead body.' _

"What the hell is that?!" Roxas panicked seeing the dark corridor.

The Dusks began moving towards the dark corridor taking Roxas with them.

'_Are we going towards it?!_' Roxas thought in fear. "H-Hey wait!" He stammered trying to get out of the Dusks grasps.

Roxas tried with all his might using the Struggle bat to fight back. Nothing he did worked.

"It's hopeless…!" Roxas frowned. He suddenly saw the Struggle bat change into a keyblade, the Kingdom Key keyblade. _'I have a key-shaped weapon too?' _He wondered in surprise. He swung the keyblade at the Dusks that were keeping him imprisoned. The Dusks went flying to the ground.

"What the…?" Roxas gasped at his new weapon.

The keyblade moved towards the Dusks, it was like the weapon had a mind of its own.

"Whoa!" Roxas held his grip on the keyblade as it hit one of the Dusks nearby. "I hit him!" The boy smiled.

"Roxas! You're ok!" Levina smiled at him.

"Pat yourself on the back later." Lira said to him. "Let's finish this fight."

Together, Lira, Levina, and Roxas fought off the Dusks. Soon enough the Dusks were no more.

Roxas caught his breath and the keyblade in his hand disappeared. He looked at Lira and Levina. "Thanks for the help." He said.

"So you remember us now?" Levina asked eagerly.

"No…," Roxas replied. "But how do you know my name?"

Levina sighed in defeat. _'How could you forget about me, Roxas?'_ She thought. '_I thought we were friends…' _

Lira noticed that there were photographs on the ground where the Dusks once were. They were all of Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

"Are these yours?" Lira asked Roxas as she picked up the photographs.

"Yeah they are!" Roxas smiled relieved to see the photographs again. "They're of me and my best friends!" He beamed.

'_Those aren't his friends…!_' Levina thought. She looked at Roxas and said, "I thought Axel was…" Lira clamped her hand over Levina's mouth.

"Don't confuse him than he already is." Lira told her as she let go.

'_Who's Axel?_' Roxas pondered as he looked at them completely confused. "Thanks again for the help," He told them. "I've gotta get these pictures back to my friends."

"But…!" Levina frowned as she saw Roxas walk off.

"Don't even think about following him." Lira said sternly.

"But we have to go into town anyway and fix the gummi ship, right?" Levina asked. "I want to help Roxas remember."

"No." Lira said.

"He's my friend!" Levina pouted.

"No." Lira told her.

Levina dropped her head in defeat. "Why won't he remember?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to remember…," Lira replied. "He seems a lot happier with his new friends. Do you really want to take that away from him?"

Roxas returned back to his friends at the Usual Spot. He was still reeling from what had happened earlier and he was most curious as to how Levina and Lira knew him since he never met them before until today.

* * *

"Ta-Da!" Olette smiled holding up the sea-shell covered frame. "I'm glad it came back to us," She told her friends. She held out the sea shell covered frame out to her friends. They all smiled seeing a picture inside the frame. It was a photo of them at the beach sharing sea salt ice cream together. "It's the 'picture' of our precious memories." She told them and then gasped. "We can say the word now!"

"That was strange wasn't it?" Hayner thought.

"Everyone who was robbed had nothing but photographs stolen," Olette assumed. "What a weird thief."

Pence was fumbling around with the photographs that Roxas had found while fighting with the Dusks." I've got it!" The chubby boy deduced. "The culprit is a stalker targeting Roxas!"

"Huh?!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Take a look," Pence told his worried friend. He showed them all the pictures. The boy was partially right since all the pictures were of Roxas. "They're all of Roxas."

"He's right…" Hayner replied. '_I wonder if the thief dug through our trash_.' He thought.

'_We'd better start closing our curtains._' Olette thought in fear.

'_I wonder if there's a wiretap on the back of our T.V. or something…'_ Pence pondered.

"This is bad!" Roxas screamed staring at the photos, wondering who or how the thief was taking pictures of him.

Hayner looked at Roxas. "Just what kind of criminal do we have here?" He asked.

"Uh…" Roxas stammered trying to remember what the Dusk looked like. "You all saw it didn't you?" He asked his friends. "When he stole our camera and ran off? It wasn't human," The blonde haired boy could easily remember the features of the Dusk that ran off with the camera. _'Nobody came… and I ended up near that strange mansion, where I met that girl with the key shaped sword…How come she remembers me? But I don't remember her?_''

"Roxas!" Hayner broke the boy out of his thoughts. He inched closer to the boy's face to see the fear in his eyes. "You're not scared are you?"

Roxas blinked trying to hide the fact that he was a little nervous. "No," He told his friend. "It's a freaky story, but…"

"Got anything else about the culprit?" Hayner asked.

They all saw Olette looking at the Clock Tower. The bells were ringing signifying the end of another day.

"It's already this late?" Olette pondered. "The 2nd day went by so quickly…"

'_Summer break will end in another week too…_' Roxas thought gloomily.

Olette held out everyone's homework books. "We'll definitely figure out who the culprit is tomorrow!" She tossed everyone their notebooks. "For now we need to catch up on our homework!"

"Hey!" Hayner spitefully scowled looking at his notebook. "Don't be so impatient!" He yelled. He looked at Olette's notebook and noticed the pages were blank too. "Yours is blank too!"

"That's the beauty of blank space!" Pence chimed in.

"What does that even mean?!" Hayner and Olette asked.

Roxas smiled at his friends and laughed.

"Hey what's so funny?" Hayner asked.

"Nothing." Roxas smiled at them. '_I'm glad I have best friends.'_

The four friends soon departed from the Usual Spot.

"We'll meet again tomorrow!" Hayner told them.

"See ya!" Pence smiled.

"Later!" Olette said.

The three walked their separate paths home while Roxas stayed behind. "It's so bright…" The light from the sun was almost blinding. "What's that…?" He thought trying to see, but the bright light was blinding him.

The boy soon lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. '_Just a little longer…'_ He thought lying motionlessly on the ground. '_A little longer…'_

* * *

"It seems 'they' are becoming desperate too." DiZ said as he examined Roxas's progress in the fake Twilight Town.

"But 'they' won't find him that easily," Riku said.

DiZ remained silent for a few moments before saying, "I've scattered pictures of Roxas around town. That way they'd be able to recognize the real thing. But it's the same at the other end, Roxas can see them too." He typed in a few commands on his computer. An image of the Twilight Town's Clock Tower appeared. They saw Axel sitting on the Clock Tower patiently waiting for something.

"Organization 13?" Riku asked.

DiZ stared at the screen. "Don't think you can act on your own pretenses in this area," He said to the screen as if Axel could hear him. "This man with red hair won't take his eyes off Roxas." He turned to Riku seeing him in the Organization's traditional black coat. "Those clothes suit you."

Riku's eyes lightly flared. He wasn't the same person as he was when he left Destiny Islands. His yearning to leave the island, a prison to him made him susceptible to the darkness. The darkness was now harboring inside his heart as a manifestation of someone who he hated, Ansem Seeker of Darkness.

"Shut up!" Riku snarled. "I can wear whatever I want, can't I?"

DiZ laughed a cold laugh. "I suppose so." He turned his attention back to the screen. "At any rate, the awakening is coming soon."

* * *

"Damn it you guys!" Axel face palmed at the Dusks as they approached him. The Dusks handed pictures of Roxas to him. "What am I supposed to do with all these photographs you're brining?" He burned the pictures. "Now then," He looked at the Dusks. "Where's the real thing?"

The Dusks responded by taking off and searching for Roxas again.

'_I know he's here…_' Axel thought. '_We used to come here all the time._' He smiled lightly. '_Man, were those good times_.'

He smiled as the memories of the two of them sharing ice cream together and talking about anything other the sun filled his head. '_It was always just the two of us…'_ He trailed off thinking of someone else. He couldn't quite place who this person was. '_Was there someone else with us too?' _He struggled with the memory of Xion. No one would able to remember her.

It was a long time since Axel had seen his best friend. All he was able to remember was Roxas leaving headquarters. After that, he never came back. Axel made it his life's ambition to find his best friend.

To make sure he was alright.

* * *

Roxas was still on the ground. Memories of Sora flooded his mind.

'_Who are you?'_ Roxas thought as he struggled with the memories that didn't belong to him.

'_I'm dreaming of him again_.' Roxas thought trying to wake up.

He saw Sora holding a keyblade. '_A keyblade…?_''

Roxas woke up with a start. He saw that he was in his room. "Huh?" He blinked in surprise. "When did I get back?" The boy looked at his hand and squeezed his fist like he was holding the keyblade. "The keyblade…"

"About time you woke up." Roxas looked over and jumped out his bed seeing Levina and Lira.

"Told you we should've left." Lira said impatiently.

"Were you two the ones who brought me back?" Roxas asked.

"We saw you passed out on the street when we came into town." Levina explained.

"So we decided to bring you back home." Lira added. She took by the arm gently. "Now that you're awake, we'll leave." She began dragging Levina out not wanting to be involved in any more or Roxas's problems.

"Wait!" Roxas yelled trying to follow.

Levina gently shook Lira's hand off her. "What is it?" She asked. "Do you finally remember us?" She asked hopefully.

Roxas shook his head at the second question. "I want to know what a keyblade is," He said. "You have one too right?"

"Yeah, but…" Levina rubbed the back of her head. '_How am I supposed to explain to him what a keyblade is, when in all honesty, I don't even understand the full power of the keyblade._' She thought.

"It's a weapon used to fight the darkness," Lira spoke for Levina. "That's all you need to know."

Roxas smiled at the answer as he saw Lira and Levina leave his room. "The power to fight darkness…" He thought out loud. "I have the power to fight and make a difference…"

* * *

**Hooray Axel showed up! **

**DiZ is being gangsta...Ugh freaking DiZ. **

**That's all I have to say :) Review! **


	3. To the Beach

**Ha, Ha I'm totally spoiling you guys :D **

**Yeah its another update. I had nothing better to do today, so I thought meh I might as well work on this fic :) **

**I hope you guys like it :D **

* * *

Chapter 3 – To the Beach

Roxas got up the following morning and headed into town to meet with his friends at the Usual Spot. Every time he wanted to go into one of the shops, each of the shop owners would tell him to leave because they still assumed he and his friends were thieves.

'_I guess it's no good…_' Roxas thought in dismay and picked up a stick from the ground. Memories of him wielding the keyblade flooded his mind. He swung the stick as if it was the keyblade he was holding in his hand. "A keyblade…" He mused to himself.

The stick suddenly flew out of his hand since he swung it too hard. He nearly jumped back as he saw the stick land hitting someone draped in a black coat. The person's face was concealed with the hood he or she had over their heads.

"S-Sorry!" Roxas stammered and apologized quickly.

The person in the black coat just walked off without uttering a word.

'_I hope I'm not in any trouble,_' Roxas thought. '_That guy sure was weird.'_ He headed to the Usual Spot to meet with his friends.

* * *

"I can't believe I've reduced myself to this!" Lira scowled. "First I was the king's chosen warrior, now I'm putting up flyers on the wall for some stupid Struggle Battle."

"It's not that hard," Levina said brightly. "We needed munny to fix the gummi ship right?" She placed a flyer for the upcoming Struggle match on the wall. "I'm sure we'll get enough munny in no time."

Lira looked at the small girl. "We shouldn't stay here for too long," She told her. "If Organization 13 is really behind all these strange creatures appearing in town, we need to be on alert. There's no way I'm letting them take you again."

Levina lightly shuddered at the thought. Her experience in the World that Never Was wasn't very pleasant. The only people she was able to trust there were Roxas, Axel, and another girl whom she couldn't even recall her name.

"Do you think Roxas will ever remember who we are?" Levina asked.

"Don't you start that nonsense again!" Lira gently scolded her.

Levina dropped her head in defeat. "Fine, I won't mention it for the entire day." She compromised with the older woman. She looked at the Struggle Battle poster. "First prize is 10,000 munny," She looked at Lira. "Do you think that'll be enough to fix the gummi ship?"

"That'll be more than enough," Lira said and looked at the poster making sure there wasn't an age limit in the match. "Good there's no age limit," She grinned. "I'll enter the match and win the prize money."

"But…shouldn't I enter too?" Levina suggested. "What if you lose to someone?"

Lira turned and looked at her. "That's not going to happen," She replied a little arrogantly. "But your right, you should enter just in case. That way we both have a chance of winning."

* * *

"Hey Roxas, you're late!" Hayner said as he and the others saw their friend walking in.

Roxas sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He apologized. He noticed that the three of them were eating sea-salt ice cream.

"This one's for you, Roxas." Olette said handing the boy the ice cream.

"Thank you." Roxas smiled taking the ice cream. He took a bite from it. '_Why does this feel so…nostalgic?_' He thought. '_I feel like I've done this before.'_ He looked at Hayner, Pence, and Olette. '_Not with them though, but with other people_.'

"This is a modest blessing isn't it?" Pence beamed biting into his ice cream. The others looked at him. "Eating ice cream together with everyone."

Hayner rolled his eyes. "To you any time's a blessing when you're eating." He said.

"But I was trying to make good conversation!" Pence whined and then smiled. "Wouldn't it be great if we could always be like this together?"

"That's impossible." Hayner replied.

"What?!" Pence pouted having his dreams dashed.

"Circumstance change, and besides," Hayner began. "Once we become adults, it's pretty much a fact that we won't be able to meet like this every day."

"That's depressing…," Pence said. "It feels really when you talk like that."

An idea suddenly hit the blonde haired boy. "I've got it!" Hayner told his friends. "Let's all go to the beach!"

"Huh?" Olette blinked.

"Why are you talking about the beach all of a sudden?" Roxas asked.

"What about our homework?" Olette protested about the idea of going to the beach. They still had homework to finish.

"That's for later." Hayner replied dismissively not exactly caring about doing homework.

"But we need to get this done!" Olette told him.

"You want to let the summer end without going to beach?" Hayner asked.

"Not exactly…," Olette said. "But still, homework is important too."

Pence looked over at Roxas. "You seem really relaxed, Roxas," He said. "Do you really want to go to the beach?"

"Yeah," Roxas smiled. "It sounds like fun." Then it dawned on him. "But I don't have any munny." He frowned looking at his friends. "I spent all my money on that tissue dispenser."

"The one where the tissue comes out of the statue's nose?" Olette asked.

"Yes," Roxas replied sheepishly. "I wonder why I even bought it." He thought.

It suddenly dawned on all of them that they would have to come up with money if they were planning on going to the beach.

"We're gonna have to come up with travel expenses too." Hayner said.

"That's right." Olette agreed.

"Train fare to the beach," Hayner began counting all the expenses they needed for this trip. "Then the food we need to eat."

"We're going to have a lot of food to eat!" Pence said happily.

"With you it'll be like a buffet." Hayner teased.

"I can't help it!" Pence beamed happily. "I love eating food with my friends!"

"How are we possibly going to come up with all that munny?" Olette asked.

"Leave it to me!" Hayner said with pride and ran off.

The others quickly followed Hayner towards Market Street where there were a ton of job offers.

* * *

"You kids want jobs too?" The Manager of Market Street asked. He was a very chubby man. He had a bunch of checklist jobs in his hand. "First those two young ladies wanted a job and now you kids?"

"I beg you!" Hayner told the elderly man putting on an act. "We need the money!"

Pence, Olette, and Roxas watched their friend act like a complete fool.

"I thought when he said, 'leave it to me' I thought it meant Hayner was gonna treat us." Pence said cheekily.

"It's Hayner, he would never do that." Olette said.

"Yeah." Roxas agreed. They all suddenly heard Hayner shout.

"Hey everyone!" The boy said happily. "I got a job!" They saw Hayner carrying a large pile of Struggle posters in his arms. "Come put up these posters."

"Struggle battle?" Olette asked.

"Yeah, it's in two days." Hayner told them.

"That sounds like fun!" Roxas smiled. "I want to enter."

"We can't be defeated by Seifer and the others." Olette said.

Hayner looked at his friend in disbelief. "You'll lose by yourself, Roxas!" He screamed. "We'll fight in the finals and whoever wins, all four of us will split the prize money evenly."

"That's a great idea!" Pence beamed.

"Those two have such incredible confidence!" Olette smiled.

Hayner looked at Roxas. "Can you do it?" He asked. "If it comes down to just you and me?"

"Yeah!" Roxas smiled.

"Alright!" Hayner beamed with pride grabbing a paint roller and dipping it into the glue that would stick the posters on the walls of Twilight Town. "It's a promise!" He began plastering posters on one wall only. "How's this?!" Hayner smiled at his handy work.

"I thought were supposed to put them in various places…" Roxas blinked as he and his friends stared at all the Struggle Battle posters on one wall.

* * *

"The beach?" Riku questioned the children's motives as he and DiZ continued to monitor Roxas's progress.

"Don't be foolish," DiZ said. "They can't leave town. "If the area is extended the enemy's intrusion paths will only multiply." He noticed the remorse in Riku's eyes for Roxas and his friends. They were just like him; they wanted to leave a place that felt like a prison. To explore what else was out there.

Riku said nothing and just looked at the stick in his hand, which Roxas had thrown earlier.

"What I mean is," DiZ looked at him. "Don't lose sight of the objective."

Riku wanted Sora to wake up. He was his best friend after all, but at what cost?

'_Maybe this was all a big mistake,_' Riku thought. '_But he's right, we can't lose sight of our objective and that's Sora. He has to wake up soon.'_

* * *

"Look how heavy this money pouch is!" Olette was holding an orange money pouch in her hand. The purple strings were tightly tied together so that their hard earned money wouldn't fall out. "We got 500 munny from working at that part-time job!"

They were all by the Train Station which was above the Clock Tower.

"Yes!" Hayner cried out excitedly reaching for the pouch in Olette's hands. "Let me savor the moment."

Olette held onto to the money pouch as if her life depended on it. She handed the pouch over to Roxas. "Roxas protect it!" She said urgently. "Don't let Hayner take it!"

"What?!" Hayner pouted.

"You'd spend it all on other stuff we wouldn't need on our trip." Pence said.

"I'm just being prepared!" Hayner defended himself.

They heard the sounds of a train coming. 'The train's coming!' Roxas thought happily and ran over towards the ticket booth. He suddenly fell and tripped over from a stick. It was the same stick that he had accidently flung into the mystery man he had met earlier.

"What the heck?" Roxas rubbed his side. "Is this a stick?" He looked up seeing the same mysterious person shrouded in an Organization 13 coat.

The man towered over Roxas and yanked him up by his arm pulling the boy back up. Roxas nervously stared at the man before him.

"Can you feel Sora?" It was Riku.

"Huh?" Roxas asked confused.

"Hey!" Hayner yelled.

"Roxas are you ok?!" Pence asked.

Hayner went over to the ticket booth. "Four tickets to the beach please!" He then looked over at Roxas. "Roxas, the money."

Roxas reached into his pocket to take out the money pouch, but to his horror the money pouch was gone. "What?!" He gasped. "It's gone! All our money's gone!"

"No way!" Hayner exclaimed.

"What could have happened?" Olette wondered.

'It was probably that guy…' Roxas thought. He looked at his friends. "I'm sure it's around here somewhere," He reassured them. "I'll go find it." The boy quickly raced off in search of the money pouch. "It's gotta be him!"

"'Him?' Olette asked.

"That guy!" Roxas told his friends. "In the black coat, who made me trip and fall over!" Roxas looked back at his friends and then towards the man that helped him, but he was already gone. He shrugged off the strange encounter like it was nothing and walked back over to his friends.

"Doesn't look like today's going to be a good day to go to the beach." Pence sighed.

* * *

"No way…" Roxas lowered his head as he followed his friends up to the Clock Tower for some ice cream. 'Maybe when I tripped it dropped and someone picked it up.' He looked at his friends. "Sorry guys."

"It's alright." Hayner said.

"You didn't get any money anyway Roxas," Olette told him. "Since Hayner was the one who did all the work."

Pence licked his ice cream happily. "This has got to be the second blessing we've had today."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Roxas asked looking at his friend.

"It means something to us," Hayner answered taking a bite out of his ice cream. "That we have such wonderful memories."

"Even if we can't be like this all the time, we'll have memories of the times we were together." Pence added.

Roxas smiled eating his ice cream. 'That's funny,' He thought. 'Why do I feel like I've been up here before?' He looked at his half eaten ice cream stick. 'Like there were people in my life that I was supposed to remember, but Hayner, Pence, and Olette have always been by my side ever since I lived here.'

The four friends watched the sun set bathe the town.

Roxas smiled at this site. 'Sora…,' He thought. 'Is that the boy's name of who I've been dreaming about?' He thought. 'Ever since I've been dreaming of you, lots of strange things have been happening. Who are you…?''

* * *

"Is this all really necessary?" Riku asked as he held Olette's money pouch in his hand.

"It's not just about keeping them away from the beach," DiZ replied not taking his eyes off the computer screens in front of him. "It's extermination."

"What about the activity of Organization 13?" Riku asked.

"They're quiet." DiZ answered.

"Do you see what's going on?" Riku asked while fiddling with the strings of the money pouch.

"I cannot say as of yet," DiZ replied. He noticed a screen showing Lira and Levina. They too were in the same Twilight Town, the fake one which DiZ had created for Roxas to live in. He knew they wouldn't post a threat to Sora's wellbeing. Roxas was their main concern right now and to make sure Organization 13 didn't get their hands on him. "At any rate, we must hurry to Naminé."

* * *

Naminé stood by Sora's pod in the safe havens of the Twilight Town mansion. After DiZ and Riku gave Roxas a fake alternative life, they decided to move Sora, Donald, and Goofy out of Castle Oblivion. They were afraid that Organization 13 would have gotten to the boy, like last time.

Naminé looked at the pod Sora was sleeping in. "Sora…" She said quietly. She hoped that this time no one else would interfere in piecing his memories together again. The girl turned around and saw DiZ appear before her.

"Is it time?" Naminé asked.

"Yes," DiZ answered. "Only tell him what he needs to know and not what he wants to know."

Naminé nodded her head and left the mansion. As she raced out of the mansion, she remembered the promise she made to Xion.

Xion wanted Naminé to protect Roxas at any cost. She wouldn't go back on her promise, even if it meant disobeying DiZ.

* * *

"Are you kidding me?!" Lira yelled looking how much munny they had gotten for working the day. "All we got was 200 munny!" She growled seeing two pieces of munny that had '100' etched into the gold triangular shaped coins in Levina's hands.

"At least it's something." Levina told her trying to be optimistic. "It's enough to stay a couple of nights at an inn here. We won't have to sleep in the destroyed gummi ship anymore."

Lira's eyes twitched. 'This isn't what I signed up for all those years ago! Your majesty if I ever find you…!'' She thought bitterly of Mickey and the burden the small king had placed on her shoulders. 'You better hope I don't!''

Levina looked at the older woman. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind either, you know." She told her. "I'm supposed to be at home… with my friends and my Dad…" Her eyes began to water. "Now everything's just a mess!" She held onto her yellow wayfinder never ever taking her hands off it.

Lira looked at the small girl. "Guess I can't complain either," She told Levina with a small sigh. "I would've been in my village taking care of my mom, instead of going on some holier than thou journey," Her bitterness towards King Mickey lightly faded. "If it wasn't for King Mickey, I wouldn't have met such incredible people." Her mind wandered towards Zack. 'I don't think I'll ever see him again.' She thought.

Levina looked around seeing people rushing into their homes. "That's odd, it's not even night out." She saw several businesses closing as the bell from the Clock Tower chimed. "How can it be night?" She wondered. "The sun never goes down in this world."

"Come on," Lira told her. "Let's go get some rest."

* * *

The following day, Roxas headed to the Usual Spot, but this time he didn't see his friends. All he saw was a note from Hayner. The note read: "We're going to the beach today! Meet us at the train station! – Hayner"

Roxas hurried off towards the Train Station, there he saw Pence and Olette waiting for him.

"Hayner got another 500 munny from his relatives!" Pence told him.

"We can go to the beach today!" Olette said happily.

"Really?!" Roxas beamed with excitement. "That's great…" Roxas suddenly trained off as he saw his friends suddenly freeze in place. He tried shaking them, but they wouldn't budge or blink or make any kind of movement. "What's going on?" He wondered.

"Good afternoon Roxas." A voice came from behind the boy.

Roxas turned around and saw Naminé. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Come to the mansion," Naminé instructed. "I'll tell you what it is you wish to know."

* * *

**:D Yay Namine has showed up! **

**Ugh rofl I'm getting tired of DiZ's shenanigans smh... and later when you guys find out who he really is... yeeeah... thanks for convoluted plot points KH 2**

**Review :D **


	4. Distance

**Here's the latest chapter everyone :)**

**There's not much to say about this chapter... **

**except for all the friendship feels :D**

**So enjoy :) **

* * *

Chapter 4: Distance

Roxas looked at Naminé completely confused. He had never seen this girl before and yet she was telling him to follow her to the Twilight Town mansion. The boy looked at his friends, they still seemed to be as if they were frozen in time.

'_What am I supposed to do?'_ Roxas thought. '_This day as been getting weirder by the second,_' He looked at Naminé who smiled gently at him. _'But she said she can give me the answers that I need.' _

Naminé began walking off and Roxas did the only logical choice he could think of. He followed her towards the mansion. He trailed after her like a lost sheep. As he began leaving his two frozen friends behind, Pence and Olette began moving again. They both saw their friend leaving them.

"Roxas!" Pence yelled. "Over here!" He called out to his friend.

But Roxas ignored them and continued to follow Naminé

"Where's Roxas going?" Olette wondered.

'_I have no idea who that girl is,_' Roxas thought following Naminé through Twilight Town towards the small woods that separated the elaborate town from the mansion. '_But she knows something! She can tell me what's going on!' _

* * *

Roxas suddenly stopped as Dusks appeared surrounding the boy. "What the heck?!" He exclaimed. "Are you trying to bother me?!" He jumped out of the way as one of the Dusks latched tried latching onto his arm. He squirmed as a Dusk grabbed his arm from behind. "LET ME GO!" He screamed shaking the Dusk off him. The boy ran to the Sandlot catching his breath. '_I need a weapon_,' He thought desperately. _'If I had a keyblade…_' His thoughts were interrupted as he heard familiar voices.

"Going for a jog, Roxas?" Seifer taunted. The older teen was lifting dumb bells twice his size while Fuu and Rai were admiring their leader's training. "Don't you dare run away from tomorrow's tournament!"

"Seifer's gonna be the winner!" Rai said.

"Victory before your very eyes." Fuu added.

Roxas didn't have time for this. He had to find Naminé. Ignoring the teens taunting he continued racing towards the woods.

"Hey! Don't ignore us!" Seifer yelled.

The Dusks that were following Roxas appeared at the Sandlot. They latched onto the only living people they could find. Fuu screamed in terror while Rai was trying to push the strange creatures off him.

"What are these things?!" Seifer cried out in disbelief trying to punch the Dusk that was clinging to him.

"Hang on Seifer!" Rai reassured his friend and tried attaching the Dusk with his fists, but the non-human Nobody was too quick for him and the boy accidentally hit his faithful leader.

"Ow!" Seifer growled rubbing his head. "Watch what you're doing!"

Roxas turned around as the Dusks continued to assault the three bullies. They didn't deserved to be saved, but Roxas knew that wasn't the right thing to do. "Regular attacks don't work on them!" He told the three older teens. Roxas dived for a struggle bat that was nearby and held it in his hands ready to fight the Dusks when suddenly everything around him stopped moving.

'_They stopped_.' Roxas thought.

The Dusks suddenly began regaining their movement and charged at Roxas.

Roxas held onto the struggle bat as tightly as he could between his fingers. '_If I had a keyblade…_,' He thought desperately. '_Just one more time..!_''

"ROXAS, BEHIND YOU!" Naminé shouted from a top one of the buildings.

Roxas turned around pointing the struggle bat at the Dusk that was behind him. The struggle bat flashed and a brilliant bright light surrounded the blue bat transforming it into a keyblade.

Roxas tightly held the keyblade in his hand and swung it at the Dusk. The boy was suddenly engulfed in a void of darkness.

"Ah!" Roxas screamed. "What's going on?!" He yelled as the darkness began pulling him in further and further until there was nothing left.

Naminé watched Roxas sink into the darkness and smiled. "Just a little further to push him in the direction he needs to go…" She said.

* * *

Lira and Levina were walking along Market Street when they noticed the people in town frozen in place.

"What's going on?" Levina asked.

"I'm not sure." Lira replied having no idea how to answer her.

"This has happened before, though," Levina said to Lira. "When we were hanging posters up this morning, everything around us froze."

'_What kind of game is Organization 13 playing?_'' Lira thought.

The two then saw Axel walking passed them.

"Axel?!" Levina smiled at the familiar red head.

Axel turned seeing the two. "Here I thought I wouldn't get to see any familiar faces." He smiled.

Lira's blue eyes glared at the red head. "Ok, what's your Organization up to now!?"

Axel looked around at the people who weren't moving except for him, Lira, and Levina. "Wasn't us," He said truthfully. "I don't suppose the two of you know where Roxas is?"

"Roxas…" Levina began.

"Forget it!" Lira yelled. "We're not telling you a thing!"

Levina looked at Lira. '_Why is she being so mean to him?'_ She wondered.

Even though Axel was their friend, he was still a part of the Organization.

"So you two have seen him, I take it?" Axel asked making his chakrams appear in his hands.

Lira held took out her sword while Levina made a motion to summon her keyblade.

"No, Levina!" Lira told her.

"Huh?" Levina frowned. "But…you'll need my help!"

Lira cheekily smirked. "This is my fight." She declared.

Axel watched as Lira kept Levina back. '_She's way too overprotective of the former prisoner,_' Axel thought. _'I'm positive they know where Roxas is.'_ For the past couple of weeks since Roxas abandoned them, the orders were directly to find him and bring him back to the Organization '_But then again it would make Saix's day if I caught her and brought her back._' He mentally laughed at this. _'Like I'd want him to have a good day._' He held his chakrams out in the air. "Then again friendly fire sounds like fun."

"I'll show you friendly fire!" Lira sprinted forward towards the Fury of Dancing Flames.

* * *

Roxas continued falling when and landed on a stained glass image of Sora in the middle. The image was surrounded by yellow stained glass papou fruits. Beside the sleeping image of Sora were his friends, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. These were the people his heart was closest to.

Roxas touched to the ground landing safely and unharmed. "What is this place…?" He gasped looking down at the image of Sora. "It's Sora…" He suddenly yelled getting knocked to his feet by a giant Nobody.

The Twilight Thorn is a gargantuan Nobody that seems to be clad in a white bodysuit, as evidenced by the large, silver zipper lining its front. It's simple, round head's only feature is a white Nobody logo on its front where the creature's face would be. It has rather thick, short legs with spikes on its hips and long, pointed feet. Its waist is quite thin and has dark grey sides. Its shoulders each sport a gigantic, diamond-shaped spike and its arms are very long, and reach the floor when fully extended down. The Nobody only seemed to have one distinct digit on each of its hands, the thumb. It also seemed to have high-heels on their ankles. It also had four long, blue tentacles with tips resembling the spikes on the Nobody sigil that wrap around its neck. Its overall body shape seems to be meant to resemble the Nobody symbol.

"I'll tell you what you want to know!" The Twilight Thorn spoke.

Roxas stepped back as the Twilight Thorn was engulfed in darkness. He screamed in terror as the darkness began consuming him. _'I'm going to drown!'_ The boy thought grimly. He suddenly felt a hand pull him back up and he found himself safe and sound in the White Room in the Twilight Town mansion.

"H-Huh?" Roxas stammered trying to understand what had just happened while Naminé smiled at him.

"My name is Naminé." The girl in the white dress greeted him. She looked at him with her soft blue eyes. The light in her eyes was swimming with sadness and sorrow. "Roxas, do you remember your real name?" She asked him.

"My real name…" Roxas said slowly.

Naminé was about to tell the confused boy everything when she felt someone yank her by her arm protruding her to stop saying anything further. It was Riku.

"What are you doing, Naminé?" Riku asked.

"Roxas needs to know the truth…!" Naminé told him.

"Don't do anything unnecessary." Riku ordered her.

Roxas glared at the cloaked man dressed in the iconic Organization 13 coat. "You…!" He growled. "You're the guy from yesterday!" He yelled. "You stole the munny pouch!"

To this accusation Riku simply held out his hand manifesting a dark corridor behind Roxas.

Roxas jumped back seeing the dark void. He glared at the taller man as he released Naminé and effortlessly lifted the boy up with one hand shoving him into the dark corridor.

Naminé casted her eyes to the white floor while this was all happening.

Riku turned to her. "It's better that he doesn't know the truth." He said. '_All that matters is Sora_,' He thought. _'Sora has to wake up. If Roxas knew who he really is…it could endanger Sora's safety from the Organization.' _

* * *

Lira swung her sword at Axel blocking his chakrams from hitting her.

"You're lucky I'm holding ba-" Axel suddenly crashed to the ground as Lira casted a minor earthquake spell.

"Lira, stop it!" Levina yelled falling over.

Lira pointed her sword at the red head victorious of her battle with one of the Organization members.

"Is that all you've got?" Axel asked.

"You're the one on the ground." Lira taunted. She then fell over as Axel kicked Lira's feet from under her.

Axel lightly grinned pinning the woman to the ground, his green eyes catching the full view of Lira's face.

"Lira!" Levina ran over making her keyblade appear running to help her friend in need but stopped as Axel pointed his chakram at the girl's face.

"Get off me!" Lira growled venomously. She wasn't used to being touched like this.

"Relax I'm not going to hurt you." Axel reassured her. "I just want to know where Roxas is."

"How should I know?!" Lira scowled as she struggled to get free.

"He normally hangs around in town with his friends." Levina said.

Hearing this Axel got off of Lira running his fingers through his hair as he sighed sadly. '_So I've been replaced by you too, Roxas?'_ Axel thought. '_Thanks a lot buddy_.' He held out his hand to assist Lira up.

Lira lightly glared at the red head shoving his hand away and got up herself.

"Guess I'll catch you two later," Axel said making a dark corridor appear. He looked at Lira cheekily saying, "Next time I won't go easy on you, got it memorized?"

Already furious by what had just happened she threw her sword at Axel's back, but Axel had already disappeared through the corridor and the sword was stuck to the wall.

"I've never met such an infuriating person in my life!" Lira seethed pulling her sword off the wall.

"Do you think he's really going to help Roxas remember who he really is?" Levina asked.

"I don't care," Lira scoffed. "We have more important things to worry about." She looked at the Struggle Poster on the wall that was ripped by her sword. '_Looks like the Organization isn't messing up this world, if you can call this strange place a world?_' She thought. '_But then who is…,_' She wondered.

* * *

Roxas fell forward in the middle of the Sandlot as the dark corridor spit him out. He fell to the ground hard.

"Pose Seifer!" Roxas heard Rai's and Fuu's voice.

"Like this?" Seifer asked his posse.

Roxas looked up seeing Seifer and his gang taking pictures. "What are you doing?" He asked as he got up off the ground.

"Commemorative photograph." Seifer replied snarkly. He tossed Roxas the photo as it came out of the camera. "Of your pathetic face."

Roxas glared crumpling the photo of him on the ground.

"So what the heck were those monsters from earlier?" Seifer asked. "Before I could beat them, they ran off, serves them right."

Roxas wasn't paying attention to what Seifer was saying. He was too busy working out what had happened with Naminé earlier. '_What was she talking about?_' He thought. _'My real name? I have to know.' _

Seifer and his gang saw Hayner, Pence, and Olette arrive.

"What are you doing here?!" Seifer sneered. "Wanna play?" He taunted the three children.

Hayner looked over Seifer's shoulder seeing Roxas. "Let's go, Roxas."

The three walked off ignoring Seifer's teasing.

"Wait!" Roxas called to his friends trailing after them.

* * *

The four friends were hanging out by the Usual Spot.

"Why were you with Seifer and his gang?" Olette asked Roxas.

"So you've finally decided to replace us?!" Hayner accused the boy.

"N-No!" Roxas yelled. "I ran into them by accident!" He then remembered that his friends had plans to go to the beach. "How was the beach? Did you guys go?"

"Yeah." Olette smiled.

"But we knew it wouldn't be the same without you." Pence said. "So we decided to skip the beach."

Roxas frowned lowering his head. "It's my fault," He told them. "I'm sorry."

"We'll go to the beach tomorrow!" Hayner said reassuringly.

"Tomorrow?" Olette and Pence asked.

"Yeah!" Roxas brightened hearing this.

"We made a promise to go to the beach," Hayner said to his friends. "I'm sticking by that promise." He told them holding a 'winner' ice cream stick in his hand.

Roxas suddenly felt a throbbing pain in his head. "What the…?" He held his head in pain.

"Roxas?" Hayner asked.

"Are you ok?" Olette asked concerned for her friend.

"My head hurts…" Roxas groaned. Images of encounters with Riku and Naminé flashed in his head. "But…I…" He tried ignoring the pain, but it just got worse and worse. He stood up from his seat and his friends looked on worried. "I'm going home…" He told his friends and ran off leaving his confused friends behind.

Roxas panted as he ran down the street towards his house. He caught his breath reaching his home and looked at the Struggle poster on the wall. _'The match is tomorrow…,_' He thought grimly. _'We would fight in the finals and split the money four ways.'_ He lowered his head_. 'We made a promise…'_ The boy seemed completely lost in what he should do.

"What kind of a fool am I?" Roxas thought out loud. "I can't promise anything to them..."

* * *

"Naminé almost blew our cover!" Riku angrily kicked a bucket and mop that was leaning against the wall. "If Roxas finds out who he really is, Sora will never wake up!" He was getting anxious and the darkness was feeding off of it.

DiZ saw the concern Riku had for his best friend even when the darkness had completely taken over his heart.

"CALM DOWN!" DiZ roared getting up from his seat seeing how angry Riku was getting. "You threw him out before he could hear anything."

Riku caught his breath trying his hardest to control the darkness that had made refuge inside his heart. '_Why do I get stuck doing these things?'_ He thought.

"Even if she did say something, Naminé did nothing more than fulfill her duty." DiZ informed Riku. "Roxas's fate will not change," He said. "Even if he heard what she had to say. No matter where he goes, he cannot escape."

* * *

Axel returned to his room at the Castle That Never Was. Things in Organization 13 had quieted down ever since Roxas left. Without a keyblade wielder Kingdom Hearts – the moon shaped heart in the sky wasn't getting any stronger.

'_I'll find you Roxas_,' Axel thought. '_Then we'll take down the Organization together_.' He thought as he lay down on his bed.

The red head stared up at the white ceiling. He was sick of the Organization's scheming to purge all the worlds with darkness and without a friend around, things got really lonely for him.

A small smile touched his lips as images of Lira flashed through his head. '_Too bad she's so stubborn,' _he thought. '_I'd like to get to know her better_,' He paused at this thought remember how curious Roxas was of Levina when they first met. _'Now I sound like Roxas._'

He was getting comfortable on his bed when heard his door open. It was Saix.

"You know if you don't knock," Axel said lazily getting up. "People are going to get the wrong idea."

"Have you found Roxas yet?" Saix asked bluntly getting his point across.

"I'm working on it." Axel replied idly not really caring what Saix had to say.

"We can't afford another failure," Saix told him. "The puppet is out of commission and we don't have the prisoner anymore," He said referring to Xion and Levina. "Roxas is the only one who can retrieve hearts with the power of the keyblade. You know what will happen if you don't complete your mission."

"Yeah, yeah…," Axel replied carelessly as if he has heard all this before. He was sick of hearing the same threats over and over by Saix or Xemnas. It didn't faze him anymore and he just wanted a way to get to his friend before they did.

"You have one more day," The Lunar Diviner said. "Don't screw up." He ordered leaving the room.

Axel sighed letting out a breath of relief. He had to come through and complete his objective. '_I always get stuck with the icky jobs…'_

* * *

**There's your 358/2 Days reference in the chapter xD **

**In all seriousness though, you can't have the Axel/Roxas friendship dynamic without Saix freaking showing up and cockblocking the two of them. Ugh especially in the manga.**

**Whenever the two of them are together in the manga, Saix is always there in the corner and its like you want to punch in the face for being a total douche, but then you learn stuff about him in Dream Drop Distance and it hits you with all these feels and you're like XEHANORT STOP MESSING WITH PEOPLE! **

**Smh... that's my mini rant for the now. **

**Review :) **


	5. The Struggle

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay on updates! My muse kind of died for this fic for a little while and I also had finals to take care of. I am officially done with college :D **

**Now all I have to do now is find a decent job... yay... **

**Enough rambling from me :D Enjoy the chapter :) **

* * *

Chapter 5: The Struggle

Today was the day of the Struggle Match. It's something everyone in town waited for. It was a gauntlet challenge over who would be the strongest person in Twilight Town. Other than the prize money, there was also a championship belt and trophy. Everyone in the small town headed to the Sandlot.

"Swing harder!" Lira instructed. She was doing some last minute training with Levina up in the Clock Tower.

"If I swing any harder, I'll sprain something!" Levina tried pushing herself to Lira's teaching methods. Each swing of her keyblade became fiercer.

"That's the way!" Lira commended the girl.

Levina smiled lightly gazing at the flood of people heading to the Sandlot. Suddenly she was knocked down to the ground by Lira swinging her sword at her feet.

"Ow!" Levina cried as she fell to the floor. "What was that for?!"

"You need to be ready for anything," Lira told her. "Never take your eyes off the enemy."

"Got it…" Levina groaned getting up. "We should head over there and check out the competition."

Lira confidently smiled. "There's no way anyone will beat us!"

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The announcer of the Struggle Match began. "Battle freaks of Twilight Town! This year brings yet another summer of fierce fighting!"

The crowd cheered for the opponents. There was Hayner, Roxas, Seifer, Vivi, and soon enough Levina and Lira made their way to the center of the make-shift arena.

'_There are sure a lot of people here_.' Roxas thought nervously. He looked over noticing Lira and Levina. The boy timidly waved to them.

Levina lightly waved back, but was stopped as Lira looked at the small girl sternly causing the smaller girl to sigh and lower her hand. This was a competition, friends didn't matter here. '_Right we need the prize money to fix the gummi ship…_' She thought in dismay.

'_This is gonna be a piece of cake_.' Hayner thought. He smiled seeing Pence and Olette in the front cheering for him and Roxas.

"Who will win the mid- summer Struggle Battle tournament finals!" The announcer screamed continuing to rile up the many spectators that were there. "On this stage, I give you the six contestants brave enough to sign up for the matches!"

The crowd cheered louder and louder.

"Do your best you two!" Olette and Pence yelled at Hayner and Roxas.

"Seifer's gonna win!" Rai and Fuu cheered their fearless leader.

"The winner of the Struggle Match will get a trophy and a free battle with our grand champion, Setzer!" The Announcer said causing the crowd to go insane.

Roxas noticed a man standing idly against a nearby wall waving to the many screaming girls crooning over him. He has long, silver hair and violet eyes, as well as a number of thin scars, one of which reaches from his hairline and over his left eye. He was wearing a loose shirt that is lilac in the front and violet in the back and black pants secured by a black belt with a silver skull belt buckle. The legs of his pants are tucked into knee-high lilac boots with swirling lavender designs on the back, and designs vaguely resembling parts of the Nobody sigil on the toes.

"He doesn't look too intimidating." Lira sneered.

"The girls in this town sure seem to love him." Levina said.

"For our first match, we have Roxas vs. Hayner!" The Announcer saw Roxas and Hayner put their rubber padded gear on which had blue and red colored balls attached everywhere. He looked at the two boys. "Snatch all the balls from your opponent within the time limit to win!" A countdown of sixty seconds started. The Announcer turned his attention back to the audience. "These two are closer friends! Let's see if their friendship is solid!"

"LET'S STRUGGLE!" The crowd screamed.

Hayner was ready. He made a promise to take his friends to the beach. Roxas on the other hand was just standing holding his Struggle bat.

"What's wrong?!" Olette wondered. "Why aren't they fighting?!"

'_Do I really have to fight Hayner…,_' Roxas thought saddened. '_I don't want to have to fight my friend._'

"Hey!" Hayner yelled at Roxas.

Roxas looked up at his friend snapping the boy out of his thoughts.

"You don't have any will to fight do you?" Hayner asked his friend.

"Sorry…" Roxas mumbled.

Hayner angrily glared. The two of them made a promise. They would give it their all in this one match. Hayner did the only logical choice to make Roxas fight. He hit his friend in the face with the Struggle bat and Roxas went crashing to the ground.

"Hayner went for a preemptive strike!" The Announcer yelled.

"What about the promise we made yesterday!?" Hayner snapped.

Roxas got back up. "I forgot all about it after I fell asleep!" He panicked not wanting to tell Hayner that he didn't want to fight.

'_Man why are you so sullen_.' Hayner thought annoyed and ran at his friend hoping he would fight back. "You're supposed to be psyched up before a match!" He yelled thrusting the Struggle bat forward. Roxas dodged this time. "You're not worked up! You're not angry!" The boy roared. "I can never tell if your being happy or angry!" He swung at Roxas hard causing a few blue balls to fall off his padded gear. "Because you never say anything!"

Roxas fell over hard and more blue balls scattered across the arena floor.

"Roxas!" Levina cried out in concern.

"Don't interfere," Lira told her. "It's against the rules."

"That was an intense hit!" The Announcer yelled.

"Olette and Pence are worried too!" Hayner told his friend as he was lying on the ground. "Because they never know if you're seriously angry or of something had happened when you keep bailing out on us!"

"Do you you're best Roxas!" Pence cheered.

"Can we not rely on you that much?" Hayner asked.

Roxas picked up his Struggle bat and got up on his feet. He panted hard holding his Struggle bat tightly in his hands. '_If you want to see me angry Hayner_,' The boy gritted his teeth. '_If that's want you want…then…_' The boy ran at his friend swinging the Struggle bat as hard as he could.

Hayner went flying across the arena. The red balls that were attached to his padded gear all fell off and were splattered on the arena. Hayner smiled and laughed while lying on the ground.

"Are you ok?" Roxas asked.

"Never been better in my life!" Hayner smiled getting up. This was the thrill of being amped up for a fight that he needed.

"The winner is Roxas!" The Announcer said and all the spectators cheered with delight.

"You owe me today's side dish, Pence!" Olette snickered with pride.

"Aww!" Pence pouted. "I was gonna eat that!"

"They used our side dish as their bets!" Hayner pouted.

Roxas smiled and looked at his friend. "You've still got another round, maybe you can win."

"I'm just going up against an old lady." Hayner said kicking the sand lightly.

Lira's eye twitched. "That little…!" She growled. "I'll show him old lady!" Lira huffed over with her Struggle Battle gear and knocked Hayner out of the arena before their match even started.

"Ahhh!" Hayner went flying into the scoreboard.

Levina blinked. "Isn't that against the rules?" She looked at Lira as she walked back over.

The Announcer looked at Hayner dangling and struggling from the score board. "It seems as though Hayner has been disqualified from the finals permanently."

"Better luck next time!" Pence said pulling his friend out of the score board.

Hayner dizzily held his head as he saw the third match between Levina and Seifer.

"Please you think you've got what it takes to beat me little girl?" Seifer sneered.

Levina lightly glared as Seifer walked over to her. "How about you forfeit the match and I'll give you private lesson one on one."

Roxas looked over towards the match as he saw Seifer's hand on Levina's shoulder. He suddenly felt tense.

"A private lesson?" Levina asked leering up at the older boy not taking her eyes off him for a moment. Seifer had an obnoxious grin on his face and suddenly howled in pain as he felt Levin's Struggle bat jab him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and fell to the ground.

Roxas smiled in relief.

'_I've taught her well_.' Lira thought smiling.

"For the second match in the finals we have Roxas vs. Vivi!" The Announcer introduced the two to the arena.

Vivi took his time walking over to the arena. Roxas felt guilty about fighting a small kid. He knew he could easily win this fight.

* * *

Naminé was watching over Sora's sleeping pod when she felt a presence in the room. It was Riku. He had his face concealed by the black coat he wore. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. To like someone whom he had hated so much, that was the price of allowing the darkness to consume him.

"You're back?" Naminé asked.

Riku nodded holding his arm. It was as if he had been injured in a fight.

"You're injured…" Naminé said indirectly pointing to his wound.

"It's just a scratch." Riku replied turning away. "The sheer number of invading Nobodies are overwhelming," He looked up where his best friend slept. "We can't wait anymore."

"Understood," Naminé nodded. "Just a bit longer…"

The two of the stared at Sora's sleeping pod. The boy inside the pod was peacefully sleeping, the smile on his face never left.

While Riku and Naminé were watching over Sora, DiZ was monitoring Roxas's progress through his computer. The computer screen suddenly flashed: 'Lost Target' He looked at the screen intently. "An intruder…" He assumed. "He snuck into the program," The wise man got up from his chair heading towards the teleport machine that would allow him access to the fake Twilight Town. "Don't think you can deceive me so easily."

* * *

The Struggle Match continued, Vivi was up against Seifer in a preliminary match. Even though he was small, Vivi was still able to knock Seifer back.

"This is crazy!" The Announcer yelled. "Vivi stepped up and defeated Seifer!"

"Seifer!" Rai and Fuu screamed running to their leader saddened that he lost the finals.

"Vivi's really tough for a small fry." Levina said handing Lira a potion. The two of them were out of the match as Vivi was able to defeat them too.

"There's something odd about that kid…" Lira grumbled chugging down the potion. "Now how are we going to fix the gummi ship without any munny?!"

"It's like he can manipulate magic to his will…" Levina pondered trying to come to terms with the fight they had both lost. They're magical skills were good enough to fight Nobodies, but not a small child.

"You can't let your guard down Roxas!" Hayner pressured the boy. He then snickered seeing Seifer walking passed the two of them. "You sure got your butt handed to you twice in one day, Seifer!" He teased.

"Shut up!" Seifer snarled at the smaller boy and looked at Roxas. "That guy's not Vivi…"

"Huh?" Roxas blinked and then looked at the small boy standing in the center of the arena. There was definitely something off about him.

"What's with him?" Hayner wondered as Seifer walked off with his little gang.

"Now the only two finalists remaining!" The Announcer shouted. "Vivi and Roxas! Who will be the one to rise to the top?!"

"Roxas of course!" Pence beamed while stuffing his face with corn on the cob.

"Aw, I wanted to place my bet before the match started!" Olette frowned. "I'd bet all my meat dumplings on Vivi!"

Hayner watched his two friends stuffing their faces. "Don't eat so much you two…."

The Announcer looked at the last remaining combatants. "Try to keep within the boundaries of fair play!" He told them.

As the Announcer was about to begin the final match, Vivi took the opportunity to smack his Struggle Bat into Roxas.

"That's not fair!" Pence yelled with food in his mouth. "Vivi just landed a pre-emptive strike before the match even started!"

Roxas blocked Vivi's blow a second time. '_Seifer was right_!' He thought. '_This isn't Vivi…!_' He struggled to keep the small boy from knocking off the blue balls that were hanging all over his Struggle Match gear.

"Roxas, win this thing!" Hayner yelled. "CONCENTRATE!"

"Right…" Roxas swung his struggle bat with all his might and Vivi suddenly disappeared into a pile of smoke. "Huh…"

In Vivi's place a Dusk materialized from thin air. Soon more followed.

"Oh no!" Levina exclaimed making her keyblade appear.

"Not again!" Lira growled.

"No way!" Roxas yelled. He looked around and saw the town appearing and disappearing. Something was seriously wrong.

"What's going on…?" Levina wondered as she looked around watching the town fizz in and out.

"Nothing good." Lira huffed running over to aid Roxas when a dark corridor appeared. The older woman stopped holding her sword tightly.

"We meet at last, Roxas." It was Axel.

Lira snarled. "You again!" She instantly recognized the obnoxious voice.

Axel looked back at her. "Relax, I'm not here for you this time."

Lira's blue eyes flared with hatred for the red head in front of her.

Axel walked over to Roxas. "You know I've gone through a lot just to come here and see you," He yanked off the foam helmet Roxas was wearing to get a better look at his best friend. "But what's with this get-up? It's almost laughable."

"Are you the one who stole my wallet…?" Roxas asked. "Who are you?!"

"Hey, hey," Axel frowned. "Don't tell me you don't remember me?" He took off his hood so Roxas could see his face. "It's me, Axel."

Roxas had no clue who Axel was. The blank look on his face was proof of that.

'_So then it's just like the reports said_.' Axel thought slightly disappointed. "Guess I have no other choice." He declared making his chakrams appear.

"Roxas!" Levina yelled running over to help her friend, but the arena was blocked by an invisible force field. "No..!" She yelled swinging her keyblade at the force field, but nothing would break it "Stop!"

"W-Wait a minute!" Roxas fell back as Axel aimed his chakarams at him. "Damn…" Roxas struggled to fight back when suddenly he felt the Struggle Bat in his hand change into a keyblade. "A keyblade…?" He tightly held onto the weapon and blocked Axel from attacking him again.

"Isn't this fun?" Axel asked his best friend slamming his chakrams into the boy pinning him down. Roxas squirmed trying to get free. "Come home," The read head said. "Organization number thirteen. Roxas, the Keyblade's chosen one."

'_What is he talking about…?_' Roxas thought as Axel got off him. "I…" He huffed getting up. "…Am not him. I'm not the chosen one to wield a keyblade!"

"Then what's that you're holding?" Axel asked pointing to the Kingdom Key in Roxas's hand.

Roxas angrily stared at the Keyblade in his hand. All this trouble started when he held the Keyblade. Angrily he threw the keyblade to the ground yelling, "I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS THING!" He caught his breath as he stared at the keyblade lying on the ground. The keyblade then re-materialized in his hands.

"There's no point in staying here any longer." Axel told his friend. He was trying to convince his friend to come back willingly or else the Organization would have to destroy him. Roxas had to know the truth. "About this town…" He slowly began but was interrupted as DiZ appeared before them.

"Who is that?" Levina wondered as she stopped trying to break the barrier that was still covering the arena.

"I've never seen him before." Lira said.

"Roxas," DiZ said to the boy. "Hurry, open your eyes. You must stop being deceived."

'Deceived…?' Roxas thought.

"Don't side with him Roxas!" Axel called out to his friend. "Come with me!"

"You were in the middle of a fight weren't you Roxas?" DiZ asked looking at the frozen people still in the same position as they were during the Struggle Match. "Are you going to win?"

"Silence!" Axel roared throwing his chakrams at DiZ, but the flaming weapons just bounced right off.

'_It's time for this intruder to go_,' DiZ thought looking at Axel. '_I will not have him or the Organization ruining this. We've worked tirelessly to keep Sora safe_.'

Axel suddenly started to de-materialize. He glared at DiZ. He knew that DiZ was controlling everything that happened in this world. Even the keyblade had reverted back to a struggle bat and the force field around the arena started to dissolve. The crowd slowly started regaining movement again. "Roxas!" Axel called to his best friend. "You don't have to keep those promises you made those false friends!" He was referring to Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Roxas looked at Axel in confusion. He had no idea what his best friend was talking about.

"Roxas! Remember who you're _true_ friends are!" Axel yelled as he disappeared from this world.

"I won't hand over Roxas to the likes of Organization 13." DiZ simply said as he saw Axel vanish and disappeared.

Roxas felt more lost and confused than ever. "Hayner….," He said as he held the struggle bat tightly in his hand. "Pence….Olette….!" They were his true friends. Nothing could ever change that. He felt a throbbing pain in his head and screamed in agony. "T-This is a dream…it has to be…" He thought to himself as continued screaming his friends names.

* * *

**Yeeeeah eff you DiZ... is all I have to say smh... **

**Review :) **


	6. To Be Forgotten

**:D Woot new chapter**

**So this is basically the begining of the end for Roxas :( Boo I am sad... **

**Happy reading**

* * *

Chapter 6: To Be Forgotten

Images flooded Roxas's head. They were images of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. They were about to set sail and leave the island like prison.

'_Friends I've never met…_' Roxas thought. He could vividly see the small island that was Destiny Islands in his head. '_Places I've never been before…_'

He always dreamt of the same images. All of Sora's precious memories were in him. '_In my dreams I become another person…_' He thought. '_In a world that has nothing to do with me_.' He then remembered what Naminé and Axel told him. _'I just don't know anymore…,_' He thought in distress. They were both telling him different things which confused him even more. '_All of this had to be a dream._'

"Roxas!" The boy broke out of his thoughts as he felt someone shaking him. "Snap out of it!"

"Pull yourself together." Lira said.

Roxas looked over to his side and saw Levina, Lira, Hayner, Pence, and Olette crowding around him.

"Huh?" Roxas blinked. "It's just you guys…"

"Were you dreaming or something?" Hayner asked concerned. "You've been acting really spacey lately."

Before Roxas could reply, he felt the referee of the Struggle tournament hand the trophy over to him.

"Look man you did it!" Pence said happily.

Roxas then remembered that he was taking part in the final match of the Struggle tournament. He looked over and saw Vivi on the ground with all the balls from his Struggle uniform on the ground.

Everyone watching the match cheered for Roxas as the boy held the trophy in his hands. However, Roxas wasn't paying attention to any of the cheers or praise he was receiving. He saw someone standing nearby, someone in a black coat.

"Something wrong?" Hayner asked his friend.

Roxas took off his Struggle helmet to get a better look, but the person he had just seen had disappeared from his view. "No...," The boy replied. "It's nothing…" The boy smiled as he was also handed the championship belt for winning the Struggle tournament.

"We need to celebrate!" Olette smiled.

"Sea-salt ice cream on us at the usual spot!" Pence beamed.

Roxas looked over at Levina and Lira. "You two can join us too, if you want." He offered politely.

Levina looked at Lira. "Do you think it's safe?" She asked.

"With all the strange things that we saw today, I'm sure eating ice cream will be safe enough." Lira answered. '_Besides we need to figure out what the Organization really wants with Roxas._' She thought.

* * *

"Come on clinch it tighter!" Hayner said enthusiastically as he tightened the championship belt around Roxas's waist.

"I-It's too tight…!" Roxas wheezed out trying to breathe.

"Looks good on you champ!" Olette said.

Everyone was sitting on the Clock Tower enjoying the view of the small town. Roxas smiled at his trophy. He saw that there were four small orbs placed on the trophy. He easily plucked the orbs out of the trophy and placed it aside. He then tossed Hayner, Pence, and Olette each a different colored orb.

"One more treasure for us to share!" Hayner said happily.

"And it's all thanks to Roxas!" Olette smiled.

"Hey I helped!" Hayner added defensibly.

"Yeah you got beat in the first match." Pence snickered.

"Shut up!" Hayner yelled.

Roxas smiled at his friends and then looked at Lira and Levina who were standing keeping watch on the children.

The boy reached into his pocket and took out the prize money he had won. "Here." He said handing Lira the prize money.

"But don't you need it?" Levina asked.

Roxas shook his head. "We have enough money to go to the beach," He smiled. "I don't really need the prize money."

Levina smiled throwing her arms around Roxas's neck. Roxas almost toppled over from the unexpected hug.

"You have no idea how much this means to us!" Levina said happily and then looked at Lira. "With this we can definitely get the gummi ship fixed!"

"Guess I was wrong about you shrimp." Lira said smiling at the ginormous about of munny in her hand.

"Now let's have a toast!" Olette told everyone taking out sea-salt ice cream for everyone to eat. "Ta-da!" The brunette beamed handing everyone sea-salt ice cream. Everyone munched and ate their ice cream, while Roxas lazily gazed out into the sun set. His ice cream was melting.

"Roxas…," Olette began. "Your ice cream it's melting…"

Roxas looked down at the frozen treat. He wasn't really in the mood to eat. He wanted to know what those strange dreams he kept having were about and why DiZ and Axel were after him. He felt the ice cream slip out of his hand.

"No not the ice cream!" Pence cried out.

Roxas reached for the ice cream and was suddenly knocked off the Clock Tower.

"Roxas!" Levina screamed trying to reach for the boy, but it was too late.

'_It's a long way down…_' Roxas thought as he fell. He felt his whole life flashing before his eyes. But it wasn't his life he was seeing. He was seeing Sora's life '_Am I going to die?'_ He wondered. He then realized that he hadn't hit the ground yet. _'That's strange, why haven't I hit the ground yet?'_ He then saw an image of a girl standing looking over at the ocean. She looked exactly like Naminé. '_Naminé?_''

* * *

A full year had passed since Kairi had seen Sora or Riku. She continued living her daily life hoping to hear something from her lost friends. She thought about them every single day. The red head was walking home from school thinking about her missing friends. But in recent days her memories of her friends were starting to fade. It was almost as if her she didn't have friends named Sora or Riku.

"Kairi!" Selphie ran over to her friend waving to her. Her green eyes sparkled at her friend while her russet hair curled from the sides was swishing in the wind. "Wait up!" She called. "Let's walk home together!" She was wearing the same school uniform as Kairi, but her sleeves were straight, unlike Kairi, who rolls her sleeves up. She was also wearing a small brown strap around her left wrist and was carrying a moogle bag around her shoulder.

Kairi smiled at Selphie.

"It's such a beautiful day," Selphie smiled. Her smile grew bigger as she and Kairi could see Destiny Islands in the distant. That was the place where all the kids from the main island play and hang out with each other. "You can see the island really well from here." She glanced over at Kairi and suggested, "It's been a while, we should go there."

Kairi said nothing for a moment. "Not today, sorry…" She apologized.

Selphie tilted her head curiously. "You're still thinking about that boy?" She asked.

"To me that island…," Kairi began. "Is the place he used to be and I told myself I'm not going to the island until I remember everything about him."

"It's so weird that you can't remember his face or name." Selphie said.

"Yeah…," Kairi bit her bottom lip. "I feel awful about it."

"But are you sure you didn't make him up?" Selphie asked. "I don't remember him at all." It was true no one on the island remembered who Sora was. Naminé had warned Sora of this when he first stepped into the pod. He had to wake up in order for everyone to remember him again.

Kairi suddenly held her head feeling a strange pain in her heart. The pain in her head began throbbing harder and harder.

"Are you alright?" Selphie asked in concern.

Kairi saw images of Roxas in her head. '_No… y-you aren't that boy…_' She thought. The pain was overwhelming and she collapsed causing Selphie to grow more concerned for her friend. '_Who are you?!_''

"Kairi!" Selphie desperately tried to wake her friend up. She was relieved as she saw Kairi wake up. The brunette helped her sit up. "Kairi are you ok?"

"I'm fine…" Kairi reassured Selphie and got up looking at the island. With all her might she ran down the road which led to the small island.

"Kairi wait…!" Selphie frowned trailing after her.

* * *

Kairi caught her breath looking at the small island in front of her. The only thing separating her and Destiny Islands, the place where she, Sora, and Riku used to spend their days was the ocean.

She suddenly heard a voice calling to her. It was Roxas's voice.

"_Who are you?"_ Roxas called out to her.

Kairi blinked holding her head. "Who…?" She asked. "Who are you?"

"_I'm Roxas_." Roxas said.

"Roxas…," Kairi said slowly realizing that she wasn't going insane. "I'm Kairi."

"_Kairi?"_ Roxas didn't recognize the name. _"That's a strange name. Am I dreaming again?" _

"What?" Kairi asked.

"_I've seen you so many times in my dreams…"_ Roxas told her.

Kairi's cheeks turned pink. "Y-You have?"

"_You were building a raft on an island with a couple of boys."_ Roxas said.

Kairi tried to remember her friends. A small memory of building a raft filled her head. "You know them?" She asked urgently getting up looking anxious. "Please! Tell me their names!"

"_Ah…well there's Riku_." Roxas told her.

"Yes!" Kairi smiled lightly feeling her heart lighten. "And the other one?"

"_You don't remember my name?"_ It was another voice speaking. A voice which lifted a heavy burden from Kairi's heart. "_Gee thanks a lot Kairi._"

Kairi gasped at the sound of the new, yet familiar voice.

"_Ok, I guess I can give you a hint,_" The voice said cheekily. "_It starts with an 'S'"_

"Kairi what happened?!" Selphie ran over to her friend panting for air as she caught her breath. "Why'd you run off?" The brunette blinked as she saw Kairi throw a glass bottle with a note inside into the ocean.

"What was that thing you threw?" Selphie asked. "You shouldn't pollute the ocean," She saw Kairi smiling. "You look so proud doing it too."

"A letter," Kairi smiled. "I wrote it yesterday." She watched the tide watch away the letter in the bottle. "To him. I wanted to let him know how I feel. I said that no matter where he is…I hope I'll meet him again one day."

"But you don't remember his name," Selphie told him. "Will it reach him? Without his name on it?"

"It'll reach him," Kairi smiled. "'Cos I do remember his name," She watched as the bottle disappeared from her sight. "Right? Sora."

* * *

Roxas woke up in his room. He was surprised that he was still alive.

'_Why am I at my house?'_ Roxas thought confused. _'I fell from the Clock Tower…'_ He then heard Kairi's voice in his head. "Was that a dream too?" He wondered. The confused boy got dressed and reached into his pocket. He lightly panicked since he didn't feel the orb he kept in his pocket as a keepsake, the one Hayner, Pence, and Olette had. "It's gone!" He jumped out of bed looking for it everywhere and turning his room into something that looked like a tornado hit it. He frowned. "No…," His frown grew bigger as he noticed the calendar on his wall. There were only three days of summer vacation left.

* * *

"Only three more days of summer vacation left!" Hayner complained.

"The real question is how are we going to make these last few days memorable?" Pence asked.

"I thought we agreed to finish our homework!" Olette told them putting her hands on her hips.

'_I guess it was all just a dream.'_ Roxas thought as he entered the usual spot to be with his friends. _'I didn't fall off the Clock Tower and I didn't win the Struggle tournament.'_

"You're late Roxas!" Hayner told his friend.

"Oh sorry…" Roxas apologized.

Olette ran over to him. "Hey Roxas, what do you think?!" She asked. "Hayner says homework is a waste of time! You're on my side right? We should finish our homework!"

"No way he's on my side!" Hayner replied taking out the green orb from the trophy. "He won the tournament, he should bask in his winning for a few more days!"

Roxas noticed that Hayner, Pence, and Olette all had their keepsake orbs from the trophy. He was the only one who didn't have one.

"I think…," Roxas began slowly. "We should do our homework."

"See I told you!" Olette grinned.

"Aw man!" Hayner pouted. "But it's independent study! I don't know what to write about!"

"Quit exaggerating." Olette replied. "There are plenty of things to write about."

"Well…," Olette stammered trying to think of something to write about.

"See!" Hayner said. "Not so easy is it?"

"What about black magic or something?" Pence suggested.

"No way!" Hayner barked.

"How about exploring the old haunted mansion?" Pence suggested again.

Hayner stood up taking charge of his friends. "Alright!" He declared. "Let's go catch us some ghosts!"

* * *

The four friends stared at the large gate between them and the mansion. Nearby, Roxas noticed Lira and Levina working hard to repair the gummi ship. He smiled at them seeing that his prize money had given them enough to buy all the spare parts that were needed.

"Roxas!" Hayner yelled. "Are you paying attention?!"

"I am…" Roxas said.

"Let's see first up is…," Olette looked at a few notes and rumors that she jotted down about what people in town were saying about the mansion. "A girl who appears at the second floor window, even though no one's lived here for years."

'_A girl?_' Roxas thought. '_Naminé?_'

Hayner walked over to the ginormous lock on the door. "So what are we going to do about this big lock?" The boy climbed up the gate trying to pull on the lock. The gate on the mansion suddenly electrocuted Hayner.

"Hayner!" Olette and Pence cried out in concern.

"Owww….!" Hayner screamed. "I'm fine…!" He groaned.

'_That's strange?_' Roxas thought. _'Why am I so relieved?_'' The feeling was very strange to him, it was as if he didn't want anyone finding out about Naminé.

"What are you blockheads doing?" The kids turned around and saw Seifer and his gang.

"Seifer!" Hayner growled. "We could ask you the same question!"

At the sound of their voices Levina looked over. "Lira, look." She gestured towards the kids.

"Whatever they're doing, it doesn't concern us." Lira told her. "We have to fix the gummi ship."

"Right…" Levina lightly sighed screwing in another bolt to the ship's exhaust tank.

"We're here to explore the old haunted mansion." Seifer said. "For our independent research papers."

"WHAT?!" Hayner yelled flabbergasted. "DON'T COPY US!"

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Why would we wanna copy you?" He walked over towards the gate and looked at Rai. "Break down the gate," He grinned at the kids in front of him. "Early bird gets the worm."

"No!" Roxas yelled getting in the way.

Levina stopped working on the gummi ship and looked over at what was going on. "Shouldn't we stop that?" She asked Lira.

"It's none of our business." Lira told her.

"Cut it out!" Roxas shoved Seifer away from the gate. "We were here first!"

The older teen glared at the small boy. "Roxas!" He snarled. "You want a piece of me?!" He shoved Roxas into the gate.

Levina saw this and stood up. "If you don't want to help that's fine, but I won't sit by and watch that jerk bully our friends!" To her surprise she and the others saw Roxas vanish right before their eyes. "Where did Roxas go…?"

* * *

Roxas found himself in a white room with drawings all over the walls. He was here before with Naminé. "Am I inside?" He wondered.

"Naminé?" Roxas saw the familiar girl from before. "Who are you?"

Naminé clutched to her sketchbook and crayons. It was time Roxas knew the truth. "I'm…," She began slowly. "A witch with powers over Sora's memories and those around him."

"A witch?" Roxas asked. "What does that mean? You can use magic?"

"That's what DiZ calls me…" Naminé told him as she sat in her chair overlooking a long white table.

"…Who?" Roxas asked.

"DiZ. He's the one monitoring the town." Naminé answered. She looked down at her drawings. "I wish my magic was powerful enough…"

Roxas anxiously squeezed his fists. "Please! Tell me everything you know!" He then remembered Sora's name. "Like who is Sora? Am I related to him or something?"

Naminé lowered her eyes to her sketchbook. "Actually…," She said slowly. "You would know that better than anyone."

"Me?" Roxas asked.

"Sora needs to sleep so he can regain his memories…," Naminé explained. "About a year ago I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart, but now I'm putting them all back just the way they were. Pretty soon, Sora will be his old self again. To wake up, he'll need you." Roxas blankly stared at the blonde girl in front of him. "You hold half of what he is."

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas…" Naminé told him. "You were never meant to exist."

* * *

"Roxas!" The boy heard his friends calling to him.

"Roxas are you alright?" Levina helped him up.

Roxas sat up and found himself back outside. He was lying on the ground the entire time.

"We got rid of Seifer and his gang." Hayner boasted with pride.

"Don't you mean they helped us?" Pence asked his friend looking at Lira and Levina.

"I was going to get to that part." Hayner replied.

Olette looked at the gate and sighed. "Looks like we won't be able to find any ghosts."

"There aren't any ghosts in that mansion anyway." Roxas told his friends.

They all saw the curtain on the second floor move.

"Now I get it, it's just the wind blowing on the curtains." Hayner said.

"So can we get some ice cream and go home?" Pence asked.

"You eat too much ice cream." Hayner told his friend.

Levina and Lira watched the kids walk back into town. Little did they know that Naminé was watching them from the window. She didn't suspect that DiZ was also monitoring her activities in the false Twilight Town.

"Now for the finishing touches," DiZ said looking at his computer while Riku held the blue orb which Roxas had dropped when he accidently fell from the Clock Tower. If DiZ hadn't rest the world, Roxas would've died that day. DiZ turned to Riku. "I want you to dispose of Naminé."

* * *

In the Castle that Never Was, Axel was being confronted by the Organization. His interrogation over trying to bring Roxas back was jarring as hell. All he wanted to was leave and be with his friend. Xemnas, the Superior of Organization 13 was on his own personal mission so Saix was left in charge.

"How could number 13 ditch us like this." Demyx frowned.

"If flamesilock can't handle bringing the little tiger back, I will." Xigbar said.

"We can't lose another member." Xaldin said.

"Fate has been cruel enough as it is, we've lost enough of our group." Luxord added.

'_That's all he is to you now?_ _A number?'_ Axel thought hearing whispers from the other members of the Organization.

"You failed to bring him back." Saix said.

"What was I supposed to do?" Axel asked lightly glaring. "He's forgotten everything. I need more time."

"Time is something we do not have." Saix told him. "If he won't come back," The Lunar Diviner ordered looking at Axel. He was enjoying watching his former friend anxiously wait for his orders. "Eliminate him."

* * *

**Getting tired of your shit Saix ugh but I still want him to be saved in KH 3. Hopefully by Axel or hell even Roxas :D **

**Review :) **


	7. The Truth

**New chapter! **

**This one is a little short, but its very plot heavy and it will give all the feels :D**

**Oh by the way if any of my readers/followers are into Chrono Trigger, I finally updated that fan-fic which was on a three year hiatus -gasp- The title of the fan-fic is called The Sands Through Time :D So if you want to give it a read your more than welcome to read it :D**

**Lol I would never have a three year hiatus for this fic...maybe... **

**Enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

Chapter 7: The Truth

'_What did Naminé mean… when she said that?_' Roxas thought while he was with his friends. They were all buying sea-salt ice cream. '_Am I not meant to be here?'_ He frowned lowering his eyes to the ground. He wanted more answers, but he was now afraid he would get answers telling him that he wasn't real.

"Hey Roxas are you listening?" Olette asked breaking Roxas out of his thoughts.

"Um…," Roxas stammered. "Yeah I'm listening…" The boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "What were we talking about?"

"You never listen!" Hayner shouted.

"We were just talking about how we only have two more days left like this." Olette answered Roxas's question.

"Huh…" Roxas blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean 'huh'?" Olette asked. "Summer vacation, remember?"

"Oh…," Roxas replied. "Yeah…that…" He didn't really care about any of that right now.

"What's up with you, man?" Hayner asked.

"Is something wrong?" Pence asked in concern. "You're acting kinda weird!"

Roxas had no idea how to explain to his friends what he was going through. How do you explain something like being not able to exist? '_How can I explain it to them?'_ He thought in dismay. '_All the things happening around me…All the things they can't see…._' He smiled at them. "I'm fine…" He told them. "I was just feeling a little blue thinking about going back to school, that's all." He reassured them.

Hayner groaned. "Don't say that!" He growled angrily. "It's still summer vacation!" He protested. "And it'll still be summer vacation tomorrow!" He suddenly grabbed Roxas in a friendly strangle hold. "AND WE'RE GOING TO ENJOY EVERY SECOND WE HAVE LEFT!" He screamed at the top of his lungs not wanting to think about school right now.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Roxas shouted and gasped for air as Hayner let go of him. "Ok I get it!"

"Now then," Hayner began planning the last days of summer vacation for his friends. "Tomorrow it'll be an all-night horror marathon at Pence's house!" He declared.

"What?" Pence asked flabbergasted. "Why my place?!"

Hayner's eye twitched. "We're supposed to be enjoying every last minute of summer vacation we have left, remember!?" He gritted his teeth.

"I don't think this counts as 'enjoying'," Roxas said. "It's quite the opposite actually."

"We should invite those other two." Olette suggested.

"You mean the lady who knocked Hayner out of the ring during the Struggle tournament?" Pence asked.

"I tripped…." Hayner pouted.

"Yeah and that other girl," Olette smiled. "They're our friends too and plus we'll have some adult super-vision around." She turned to Roxas. "Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"

Hayner, Pence, and Olette turned to Roxas. He was too pre-occupied with his thoughts to even realize what his friends were talking about.

* * *

Naminé sat in the white room of the Twilight Town mansion. She was drawing a picture of Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette together. '_Is it better that you don't know the truth…'_ She thought and then looked up seeing Riku appear in front of her.

"Is Sora ready yet?" Riku asked her concealing his face with his hood. He didn't want anyone to see what he had become ever since he had poisoned his heart with darkness.

"Yes…" Naminé said quietly. "You'll see him soon."

Riku noticed he sketchbook in the blonde girl's hands. "What are you drawing?" He asked curiously.

"Roxas…," Naminé answered. "And his friends from that world." She looked out the window at the view of Twilight Town in the distance. "I wish he could live in that world forever."

"I know…" Riku said to her. He squeezed his fists. DiZ had assigned him to erase or kill Naminé. Part of him didn't want to since she was Kairi's Nobody.

Naminé turned towards Riku. "You're here to erase me?" She asked.

Riku said nothing to this.

"DiZ told me," The small girl began. "He said once my job was complete, I would no longer be needed." She looked at Riku. "But please…," She begged. "Let me see Roxas, just one more time. There's something I need to tell him."

* * *

The following morning Roxas woke up earlier than usual. He headed town to the Market Plaza to get sea-salt ice cream for his friends. To his surprise, he saw that no one was around. The boy sighed. He felt strange, he didn't dream about Sora last night. The memories that were once invading his head had left and had gone back to Sora.

Politely the boy left some munny on the table and bought four sea-salt ice cream. He was walking passed Levina and Lira who were anxiously waiting for the gummi ship to work.

"I hope the gummi ship will work." Levina said eagerly.

"You're not the only one who wants it to work," Lira tried starting the engine. "I wonder how this town became so deserted so quickly?"

Levina lightly frowned since the engines were still not working. "Maybe we did something wrong?" She pondered.

Lira groaned in annoyance. "Who am I kidding?" She said. "We're never going to get this thing to work."

"Then how do we get out of here?" Levina asked?

Lira was about to say something and suddenly jumped out of the way as one of Axel's chakrams almost hit her. The chakram burst into flames rupturing the gummi ship the two had worked so hard on rebuilding.

"You're going to regret that!" Lira growled at the red head in front of her.

"I don't have time to play with you right now." Axel replied. "I'm just making sure you two don't get in my way." He disappeared through a dark corridor.

Levina nervously looked at Lira who was about ready to pop a blood vessel. "Lira…" She cautiously said.

With great effort Lira calmly turned around. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Levina asked.

"We're going to find Axel." The older woman sneered. "He's not getting away with destroying the gummi ship!"

"But…" Levina protested. "We don't even know where he went."

"He's probably looking for Roxas." Lira assumed.

"He's normally with his friends around this time." Levina said.

* * *

Roxas arrived at the Usual Spot. He smiled brightly seeing his three friends. They were talking and laughing together.

"Mornin'!" Roxas waved to his friends. "I bought ice cream!" The blonde haired boy looked confused when his friends didn't greet him.

He walked closer to them. "Hey!" Roxas yelled. "I said ice cream!" Still nothing. The boy frowned a little and reached his hand out to Hayner. "Hey guys what's…" He trailed off as his hand went straight through Hayner like he was a ghost.

"What is going on…" Roxas thought out loud. He froze as the three friends ran off together going passed Roxas, not even acknowledging he was there.

Roxas dropped the bag of sea-salt ice cream to the ground. '_T-They didn't even notice me…_' He thought desperately trying to hold back tears.

"Yo." Axel appeared behind him.

Roxas looked at Axel and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Are you crying?" Axel asked.

"No…" Roxas replied.

Axel held out a bag in his hand and gave it to Roxas. "Here, I got you something." The red head said. "They're good, try one."

Roxas took the bag and saw and saw a box of small pastries.

"Look I've been given these icky order," Axel told his friend. "If you don't come back with me, I'm supposed to destroy you."

"You mean…kill me…?" Roxas asked.

"Hey I don't like it either." Axel replied taking a bite from one of the pastries he brought over.

Roxas looked at Axel. "But…," He began. "We're best friends…aren't we?"

Axel almost looked relieved as Roxas said this. "Wait a sec!" He said. "You remember now?" He smiled. He stepped on the ice cream bag which Roxas had dropped. "Boy was I worried there for a sec…." The red head paused and looked down at the crushed sea-salt ice cream. "What the?! Ice cream…" He saw the 'winner' stick on the ground. '_We used to have ice cream all the time…'_ He thought. '_Now I feel like I won't ever get to see him again…_'

Roxas looked at Axel. "Am I…not supposed to exist?" He asked.

Hearing Roxas ask that Axel burst into laughter. "You had to go and ask that!" He looked at the smaller boy. "You totally ruined your 'I remember act.'" He told his friend.

Roxas said nothing. He just looked at his friend with a blank look on his face.

"So you really did forget everything," Axel said and then looked at Roxas. "Actually I envy you." He made his chakrams appear in his hands in a blaze of fire. "Roxas, I'll let you in on a little secret!"

Roxas watched as Axel destroyed everything precious that belonged to him and his friends.

"Hey stop that!" Roxas shouted. He gasped as he saw the picture of him and his friends on the beach. The picture frame crashed to the ground and break. "No…!" The boy cried out. He picked up the picture off the ground.

"This whole town is a sham!" Axel told him. "That guy, DiZ made it up! All of it fake!"

Roxas wasn't paying attention to what Axel was saying. He was too fixated on the picture in his hands.

Axel caught his breath and calmly looked at his friend. "Hey Roxas…," He said calmly. "C'mon try to remember…"

Roxas angrily squeezed his fist and make the Kingdom Key keyblade appear in his hand.

Axel lightly frowned. He didn't have a choice now. He had to fight Roxas as much as he didn't want to.

"You're an idiot…" Axel sighed aiming his chamrams at Roxas. The red head ran towards his best friend. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Roxas held his keyblade tightly ready to strike when Axel suddenly froze in place.

"He's frozen…." Roxas said. He suddenly held his head hearing DiZ speak to him.

"_Roxas_!" DiZ called out. "_To the mansion! The time has come for you to learn the truth!_"

Roxas shook the pain from his head. _'The mansion…_' He thought. The boy raced out of the Usual Spot dropping the picture of his friends. The picture that once had him, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, only had the three friends together enjoying their time on the beach. Roxas was no longer in that picture.

Axel eventually regained control of his body. "Roxas…" He frowned. "I see how it is…" He said. "The Roxas I knew is long gone…"

* * *

Roxas raced off towards the mansion. He fought Dusks that were blocking his way. His mind had gone completely numb over the events that were happening up until this point. "Roxas!" Levina called out to him, but the boy kept on running. "Where's he going?"

"Don't know…" Lira held her sword striking down Dusks that appeared near them. "Judging from all this commotion, he could be in trouble."

"We have to help!" Levina said making her keyblade appear.

The two fought side by side taking down Dusks as they trailed after Roxas.

Roxas's heart felt completely heavy. He didn't care if he wasn't meant to exist. He didn't care that his friends completely forgot about him. He didn't even care that his name was being called by Levina and Lira urging him to stop. He had to keep running. He would find the answers he's looking for at the mansion, he was certain of this.

* * *

**Yay Sora's on the verge of finally waking up, but at what cost? **

**Review :D **


	8. Tears of a Nobody

**This is it guys! **

**Roxas's last appearance :( I'm sad **

**Enjoy the chapter... :) **

* * *

Chapter 8: Tears of a Nobody

Roxas raced through Twilight Town. He kept hearing DiZ's voice in his head telling him to go to Twilight Town. His whole life was perfect until he was told he wasn't supposed to exist, that this wasn't his life. He wasn't whole in this fake world.

'_All of this…I'll be able to find out everything once I get to the mansion,_' Roxas panted as he kept running. '_I have to know the truth! Who I am? Where I came from? Who is this Sora person?!' _

The boy stopped in his tracks seeing Dusks surround him. In a blaze of light, Roxas made the Kingdom Key appear in his hands. He tightly held the keyblade which chose him for some reason.

"Outta my way!" Roxas yelled swinging his keyblade at the Dusks and kept running until he reached the Twilight Town mansion.

Roxas looked at the lock on the gate and tried opening it. He groaned in frustration as the lock didn't open.

"Don't call me here and lock me out!" Roxas cried out. He then turned around seeing the Dusks corner him. "Just great…"

"Roxas!" Levina called to him swinging her keyblade at the Dusks.

"Thanks…" Roxas smiled.

"We'll take care of them." Lira froze one of the Dusks in place and swung her sword at the frozen Nobody.

Roxas smiled at them and backed away as more Dusks appeared to bring him back to the Organization. The pale creatures were suddenly vanquished when another keyblade struck them. It was Riku. He was still possessed by Ansem, but was able to maintain his powers in wielding the keyblade. He held his Way to Dawn keyblade tightly.

"You're…" Roxas stammered as he saw Riku helping him. All this time he thought Riku was the one causing trouble for him and his friends.

"Go!" Riku ordered Roxas.

"But I don't have a key to unlock this gate…" Roxas then looked down at the keyblade. "Maybe…" It was as if he had done this before, Roxas raised the keyblade to the locked door and it opened. "It opened…"

"Roxas wait for us!" Levina called to her friend. She and Lira raced behind Roxas while Riku fought off the Dusks.

* * *

Once inside the mansion, the three discovered the mansion wasn't in any use. It seemed as though no one lived here. The furniture was covered up with white sheets, there was dusk everywhere, and cobwebs hanging around the walls and ceilings.

'_Did Naminé know that I'd be here?'_ Roxas wondered.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here." Lira said.

"This place is so empty." Levina added. She saw Roxas going up the steps of the empty mansion. "Wait…" She quietly followed him with Lira close in tow. "Why'd you come to this place?" She asked.

Roxas turned around and looked her. "I was told that I'd get answers here." He said.

"Answers to what?" Lira asked.

"Who I am." Roxas answered heading into the white room where Naminé was supposed to be.

"Roxas…" Levina lightly frowned following him inside. "Does it really matter who you are?" She asked. "You're a good friend and kind hearted person."

Roxas looked down a little. "Yeah, but with no memory at all of a life I was supposed to have or should be living."

"I know what that's like…" Levina sighed remembering how she had forgotten her friends when she was the Organization's prisoner. She looked at all the drawings plastered around the walls. They were all of Roxas or more so, his life and who he was.

"These are all drawings of you." Lira said looking closely at the drawings.

Roxas lowered his head. '_I wish she didn't draw these…_' He thought looking at all the drawings. They were fragmented memories of his life in the Organization. There was even a drawing of him, Axel, and another girl who resembled Kairi and Naminé. '_Who is that girl?'_ He thought hard trying to remember Xion, but wasn't able to.

* * *

_"Your mind's made up?" Axel asked._

_"Why did the keyblade choose me?" Roxas said to him. "I have to know." He told his friend and kept on walking._

_"You can't turn your back on the Organization!" Axel yelled. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"_

_Hearing this Roxas stopped. _

_"You'll go despite this!?" Axel asked._

_"No one will miss me," Roxas replied. "Am I right? We're all Nobodies…right from the start." He held his keyblade tightly. "It didn't matter if we were happy or hurt, we couldn't feel it anyway. We only __wanted__ to feel it…and in the end we can't without a heart."_

_"That's…!" Axel watched as Roxas made a dark corridor appear. He watched as his only friend in the Organization left him. "…Not true." He lowered his head and sighed. "I'll miss you…"_

* * *

Roxas held his head slightly at the vague memory that he had recalled. "The….Organization…," He said slowly causing Levina and Lira to look at him. "Organization 13…"

"Roxas?" Levina asked. "Are you alright?"

"You don't look so good," Lira told him. "We should leave."

"Did you remember something?" Naminé asked.

The three of them looked over at the blonde haired girl sitting completely relaxed in the white chair.

This was the first time Levina ever saw Naminé. The blonde haired girl was kindly smiling at her.

"You're…" Levina said slowly looking at Naminé. "Who are you?" She asked.

Naminé smiled. "My name is Naminé." She introduced herself to Levina.

Levina smiled back. "I'm Levina."

"I'm just relieved I didn't take any part in restoring your memory," She said politely. "I wouldn't want to put you in any danger." She then looked at Lira. "Did you find your friend?" She asked.

Lira said nothing, Images of Zack floated into her head. She had no time to think about him, but her heart knew that something devastating must have happened to him after all these years. There was no way she would be able to find him.

Roxas looked at the blonde girl asking her, "What am I supposed to do?"

A small sigh escaped Naminé's lips. Xion asked her the same question before destiny laid her path in front of her. "Everyone is waiting for the key bearer." She said. "You need to go wake Sora and –"The girl lowered her eyes to her sketchbook. She knew that if Sora would be awake, Roxas wouldn't be here anymore.

"And?" Roxas asked.

Before Naminé could speak, DiZ appeared through a corridor of darkness.

"What are you doing?!" DiZ demanded.

"You're…" Roxas began and saw Naminé disappear right in front of him. "Bring her back!"

"She wasn't here to begin with, boy." DiZ told him.

'_I don't think he's working for the Organization._' Lira thought closely looking at DiZ. 'Maybe the Organization is working for him?' She assumed by looking at DiZ and the power he was capable of.

DiZ looked at Roxas. "The answers you will seek are in the library." He told him.

"No! Bring Naminé back!" Roxas roared. "We were talking!"

DiZ ignored Roxas's request. "Go before I lose my paietnce with you and wipe you out for good!"

"What?!" Roxas exclaimed.

Just then Naminé appeared from another corridor of darkness. "Roxas!" She yelled running over to him grabbing the front of his shirt to get his attention.

"Naminé!" Roxas looked at her.

DiZ scowled. "Do you want to disappear so badly?!" He asked Roxas.

"You won't disappear!" Naminé told Roxas as DiZ pulled her away from the boy.

Seeing this Lira and Levina held their weapons in their hands.

"Do not be foolish and think you can strike me." DiZ told them. "Unless of course you want to endure the same pitiful fate as Roxas."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Levina roared angrily holding her keyblade.

"There is so much to comprehend," DiZ replied. "You understand so little."

"Roxas! You'll be whole!" Naminé shouted to Roxas. "You won't disappear!" She told him as DiZ clamped his hand over the small girl's mouth. Roxas wasn't supposed to know any of this, his plans would be a waste if the boy knew the truth. DiZ dragged her to a dark corridor. "Don't forget, we'll meet again!"

"You aren't getting away!" Lira leaped in the air and swung her sword, but DiZ had already disappeared with Naminé.

'_Disappear?'_ Roxas thought gloomily.

* * *

DiZ carelessly threw Naminé into a small cell. "Your usefulness has ended," He told her. "Stay in there until I decide what to do with you." He lightly scowled at the girl_. 'Riku was supposed to do dispose of you._' He thought.

As if on cue, Riku appeared in front of DiZ.

"I thought I told you to dispose of Naminé!" DiZ yelled.

"I'm not going to do that," Riku told him. "If you want her erased, then do it yourself." He looked at the man in front of him. "We've got bigger problems on our hands right now. There are too many Nobodies."

DiZ looked at the computer screen in front of him seeing Dusks filling up Twilight Town. They were looking for Roxas. "They are making one last move," He said staring at the screen. Organization 13 would never be able to get to Roxas, he would make sure of that. To this revelation, DiZ let out a laugh. It wasn't a laughter of happiness or insanity, but it caused Riku to question whose side he should really be on. "HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO SEE THE PRELUDE TO MY REVENGE!" He screamed.

'_Revenge_?' Riku thought.

* * *

Roxas, Levina, and Lira found themselves in the library of the Twilight Town mansion.

"Why did he tell me to come here?" Roxas thought out loud.

"Look." Levina saw one of the bookcases open up and pull back to reveal a secret passage way.

"That's a little cliché." Lira said. "What's next a giant computer at the bottom?" She snorted.

"It's leading down into the cellar…" Roxas said walking down the hidden steps. Once reaching the bottom of the steps the three of them saw a large computer. It was monitoring everything, from the moment Roxas woke up on his first day in this alternate Twilight Town.

The closer Roxas got to the computer his head began to throb. The memories he had abandoned from his life as an Organization member began flooding his head.

"Ah!" Roxas screamed in agony.

"Roxas…!" Leavina ran to him. "What's the matter?"

"M-My head…!" Roxas struggled raising his keyblade at the computer as he began to remember everything. All his memories were coming back to him.

* * *

"_Good tidings friends," Xemnas spoke his Organization. "Today marks a momentous day, I am pleased to announced that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat. _

_Roxas stood in front of the Organization. _

_The members of Organization 13 curiously stared and grinned looking down at the small boy. _

"_Let us all welcome the keyblade's chosen… Xemnas said. _

* * *

'_Why me?_' Roxas thought. '_Why did the keyblade choose me?_''

More memories began pouring into his head.

"Roxas…" Levina looked at the boy in worry.

"Snap out of it!" Lira growled at the boy.

Roxas continued holding his head as another wave of memories flooded his mind.

_"Why do you have the keyblade!?" Riku yelled. _

_"Like I'd know!" Roxas yelled launching at Riku again._

_Riku blocked Roxas from hitting him. '__He's strong,__' Riku observed. '__Her powers and Sora's memories…__' He noticed Roxas take up a similar fighting stance to Xion. '__Could they have gathered within Roxas's body…?__'' The Oblivion keyblade was suddenly knocked out of Riku's hand and reappeared in Roxas's hands._

_"What's wrong Sora?" Riku taunted. "I thought you were better than that. Giving up already?"_

_"Huh?" Roxas panted hard catching his breath. "Get real!" He sneered angrily just like Sora. "Look which one of us is winning!" Roxas touched his mouth realizing what he had just said._

_'__So it's true…' __Riku thought. '__He really is Sora's Nobody__.'_

_"I'm not Sora…!" Roxas yelled. "I'm me!" He screamed running at Riku. "Nobody else!"_

* * *

_DiZ and Riku took Roxas to a secret room in the Twilight Town's mansion. This was where DiZ was monitoring everything, from Organization 13 to Sora._

_"Naminé hopes we can squeeze in a little more time before Sora's memories are completely restored," DiZ said as he sat by his computer. "Until then we will transplant new memories to him…" He looked at the unconscious Roxas as he sat by a teleport machine which was hooked up to the computer. "And let him live in a simulated Twilight Town."_

_"That will throw off his pursuers – The organization." Riku asked as he spoke in Ansem Seeker of Darkness's voice._

_"Once the time is ripe," DiZ Said. "We can dispose of him."_

_Riku looked at Roxas. "Poor thing."_

_"It is the fate of a Nobody," DiZ replied. "It is a luxury for him to live in a dream before his end – there is nothing better," He typed a few commands on the computer and Roxas slowly became digitized and transported with false memories into a fake simulation of Twilght Town._

* * *

In a fit of rage, Roxas let out an angry yell and smashed the computer in front of him with his keyblade.

"It was all a lie!" Roxas screamed. "I never had _**anything**_ to begin with!" He continued smashing the computer until the machine couldn't function anymore.

Levina and Lira looked at Roxas in concern.

Roxas huffed catching his breath. He looked at Levina and Lira realizing who he really was. "Nobodies…," He panted. "Born between light and darkness…" He told them. "Beings that never were…" He said remembering the first day he was born. "One day I was born…outside this mansion…" He squeezed his eyes shut tightly trying to hide the tears that were in his eyes. "I felt nothing…everything was a blank." He had remembered what Xemnas had told him on his first day. Xemnas said he could give Roxas a purpose and meaning to his life. "So I was given a name…and a black coat…" His hands holding the keyblade shook. "I even made friends….people that I could be with all the time…" He remembered Axel and a vague memory of Xion filled his head. "I thought I could make more friends…" He thought of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. "But…I was so jealous of them…," He confessed. "I wanted to be a part of what they had together. A part of their friendship…" He lowered his head quietly wiping the tears that escaped from his eyes. "But…that was nothing more than just a dream…"

"Roxas…" Levina reached to hug the confused boy.

Roxas felt Levina's arms around him and he didn't budge. Instead he shoved the girl away from him. "Leave me alone!" He yelled. "How do I know you two aren't real?! My whole life has been a lie up until now! I'm not meant to be with people or feel anything!"

Levina lowered her head as she heard Roxas say those words.

"But we're your friends…" Levina told him trying her hardest to get through to him.

Roxas held his chest where his heart was. He felt a strange feeling inside, like his heart was hurting. "My heart hurts…" He said quietly. "But I'm a Nobody…I don't have a heart…"

"You're as human as anyone else that I know." Lira said to him.

"That's right, you've got emotions and a heart, just like us." Levina added and was about to say more when Axel appeared.

"Man you really did a number on this place." Axel said as he looked at the destroyed computer.

"Axel…" Roxas looked over at his best friend. He remembered everything about his best friend.

"You remember me now?" Axel asked making his chakrams appear. "I'm SO flattered!"

Roxas went flying as a wall of flames hit him.

"No!" Levina screamed as Lira held her back away from the flames so she wouldn't get caught in the middle of Axel's attack.

Roxas held his head and gripped the keyblade in his hand.

"I told you when you first left," Axel said to him. "I wouldn't turn on the Organization, not even for you" He said flaming his chakrams again. "If I let you go I'm a dead man, that's why I have to finish you right here."

'_Even Axel doesn't want me around anymore…!_' Roxas thought frustrated. He balled his fists holding the Kingdom Key keyblade which then transformed into the Oblivion keyblade. "I'M NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!" He screamed and another keyblade emerged in his other hand, the Oathkeeper keyblade.

"Two!?" Axel exclaimed.

"We have to help him!" Levina exclaimed.

"As much as I'd like to see Axel get killed by me, this is between them." Lira told her.

"But…!" Levina protested watching the two friends fight.

Roxas ran at Axel with both keyblades in his hands. He charged at Axel swinging his keyblade and Axel blocked with his chakrams. He didn't want to fight Roxas, but he was having the time of his life right now, even if they were on opposite sides fighting attacking and injuring each other, they were still best friends.

"That's the sprit!" Axel grinned. "Brings back old memories doesn't it?" He set the entire perimeter where Roxas was standing on fire. "This is just like the good old days!"

Roxas leaped in the air with his keyblades in hand. "We can't go back." He told him and struck Axel with his keyblades causing him to fall over.

Seeing Axel fall over in pain as he fell, his coat was nearly ripped, Lira became concerned. "Axel…are you…" Lira shook the feeling of concern for Axel and sneered, "That's what you get for wrecking our gummi ship, you jerk!" She and Lira put the flames out with the blizzaga spell.

"Ow…" Axel groaned, but he was smiling. "That was a nice move." He looked at Roxas as he slowly disappeared into a dark corridor. "Let's meet again," He told his best friend. "In the next life."

"Yeah," Roxas said with a small smile. "I'll be waiting."

Axel smiled back at his friend. He was happy to see him again even if it was for a short time. "I'll be waiting too." He disappeared into the waiting dark void.

"You can wield two keyblades?!" Levina asked Roxas eagerly.

Roxas looked at both keyblades in his hands. "Yeah," He answered. "I don't know how I'm able to do it. But I can wield two keyblades when my heart is set on doing something."

* * *

Roxas, Levina, and Lira entered a white room. In the middle of the white room were three flower-shaped pods.

"Donald…" Roxas said seeing Donald Duck asleep in one of the pods. He then saw Goofy right next to him in another pod. "Goofy…"

Levina looked at Donald and Goofy. It was such a long time since she had seen them. The last time she saw them was with Ven on the Mysterious Tower before her life crumbled and darkness claimed her home and friends.

In the middle of the room there was a large flower shaped pod. Inside it was where Sora was asleep.

"At last," DiZ said appearing before them. "The keyblade's chosen one."

Roxas hatefully glared at DiZ. This was all his fault, the reason why he was sent to live out a fake life. "What do you want!?" The boy demanded.

"The keyblade's chosen one will awaken soon," DiZ said. "You must return your existence to him," He then said something that almost frightened Roxas. "When he awakens…you will disappear."

"What?!" Levina exclaimed looking at Roxas. "That's insane!" The girl bit her lip. She didn't want to lose another friend. She lost too many friends already. She looked at Roxas. "You don't have to listen to him Roxas! You can stay with us! We'll figure this all out together!"

But Roxas had already made up his mind. He wasn't going to continue living out a fake life with fake friends. Disappearing was much better than being in a fake world.

"Why?" Roxas asked looking at DiZ.

"Because you hold half of his power," DiZ answered. "And because you are a Nobody. You aren't meant to exist."

Roxas angrily squeezed his fists. The Oathkeeper and Oblivion keyblade disappeared in his hands and in its place was the Kingdom Key. "Who cares!" He ran at DiZ swinging the keyblade at him, but the weapon just went straight through DiZ.

"My apologies," DiZ said in mock concern. He watched in amusement as Roxas kept on trying to attack him. "This is only a data-based projection."

Roxas caught his breath panting hard. "I hate you so much!" He yelled as tears trickled down his face.

DiZ grinned. "You should share some of that anger with Sora," He said. "The boy is too kind-hearted for his own good."

"NO!" Roxas screamed. "MY HEART BELONGS TO ME!" He then suddenly saw the flower-shaped pod slowly starting to open.

"Roxas…" Levina quivered as she saw the boy fade away.

"Looks like that freak in the bandages was right." Lira said slightly dis-heartened.

Roxas looked at Sora. The boy was happily asleep in his pod. The smile on his face never left. _'I'm not supposed to feel anything._' He thought. He thought of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. '_So why am I jealous of them?'_ Images of Sora, Kairi, and Riku together flashed in his head. '_These images of people I've never seen keep playing in my head…'_ He remembered having a conversation with Axel. _'Those memories are what made me doubt myself.'_ He turned to Lira and Levina. '_I wanted to know what it was like to be with someone special, but I'm not allowed to know what that's like_.' He looked at Sora. _'He has a keyblade too_,' He thought to himself. '_His name is Sora._'

Levina looked at Sora. This was the first time she saw the spikey brown headed boy. '_He looks exactly like…,_' She thought remaining still, but she smiled at the boy. '_Even if he and Vanitas share similar appearances, this boy doesn't seem like he'll hurt us.'_ This was the Sora everyone spoke of. The one to balance everything the darkness had done to all the worlds and people.

"You're lucky Sora," Roxas told the boy still asleep in the pod. "I was supposed to have one more day left," He knew he didn't have much time left. "Looks like my summer vacation….," The boy started to become transparent, almost non-existent. "Is over…" He disappeared as if he never belonged in this world in the first place.

* * *

**Roxas come back :( **

**Oh well at least Sora, Donald and Goofy are awake now. Time for world exploring shenanigans :D**

**Review. **


	9. Putting the Twilight Behind Us

**So I've been distracted a lot in my fanfiction writing. I've been spending all my spare time playing Kingdom Hearts 1.5 for the PS 3. Final Mix is a beast x.x I died in the tutorial on proud mode rofl. **

**:D But I had time to write today! Let's see how Sora copes with having two hearts inside of him :) **

* * *

Chapter 9: Putting the Twilight Behind Us

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were in the Usual Spot trying to finish their homework. This was their last day to finish and school would begin tomorrow.

"Can't we take a break?!" Pence whined sitting back against the wall.

"I suppose we can." Olette chimed happily picking up a plastic bag that contained sea-salt ice cream. The brunette looked inside the bag and saw four sea-salt ice creams instead of three. "Huh? There's an extra one."

"What?" Hayner asked looking at her.

"Ice cream," Olette answered. "That's weird…," She pondered why she bought four ice creams when there were only the three of them. "I thought I bought one for each of us," She paused a little looking at the four ice cream sticks in her hand. "Why is there an extra one…?" Fragments of memories filled her head about Roxas which soon then disappeared. Their memories of Roxas were no more.

"Can I eat it?" Pence beamed.

Olette shrugged handing Pence one of the ice creams while she and Hayner ate theirs. She put the extra one aside near the exit of the Usual Spot.

Hayner looked up to the ceiling. The light from the sun was shining down on them from a crack in the wall. '_Aww man summer vacation is almost over_.' He thought.

The memories and friendship of Roxas were completely wiped out from their memories. They couldn't remember who he was or what he looked like. Not even the happy memories they shared together. They would always remember each other, three best friends enjoying the summer instead of four.

"Ah! It's gone!" Pence screamed causing Hayner to break out of his thoughts and Olette to turn around at her chubby friend.

"What's gone?" Olette asked.

"The extra ice cream!" Pence sniffled still eating the ice cream he had.

"That's strange…" Olette said looking at the spot where she put the extra sea-salt ice cream. "I left it right here.

"So does that mean I don't get an extra ice cream?" Pence pouted.

"Forget about that," Hayner groaned. "We've got home work to finish."

* * *

Axel walking up to the Clock Tower holding a wrapped sea-salt ice cream in his hand. '_Man Roxas really did a number on me…'_ He thought as he sat on his usual spot on the Clock Tower. For a brief moment he looked over to his side hoping Roxas would show up, but he knew that was impossible.

He sat alone listening to the sounds of the bell that was ringing in the Clock Tower. "I'm definitely going to need a new coat." He fiddled with the wrapping of the ice cream before bringing the familiar treat to his lips. '_What do I do now?'_ He thought dismissively. '_Do I go back to the Organization? Tell them I failed to bring Roxas back…_,' He tightly held onto the ice cream stick. '_If I do that I'll get annihilated…_' A small laugh escaped from his mouth. "Getting annihilated would be a lot better than this…" He sighed. "At least then I'll get to see Roxas again…"

"So this is what you do on your time off after missions?" Saix's voice boomed from behind the red head.

Taken completely off guard Axel almost choked on his ice cream. "What are you doing here?" He coughed.

"You didn't report in," Saix replied. "I thought Roxas would've been too much for you."

Axel stared at the sun set over looking Twilight Town. "He's gone…," He said.

"Which means the key-bearer has awakened." Saix confirmed. "I've already dispatched an army of Dusks to dispose of him."

Axel didn't say anything. He just wanted his best friend back.

Saix looked at his former friend emotionlessly. "Now that your distractions are gone," The Lunar Diviner began. He knew Axel was upset over losing Roxas. "Maybe now you can focus on more important things." He told him.

"Like what?" Axel asked. "Making sure you get in good with Lord Xemnas?"

Saix gave Axel a cold-hearted look before sitting next to him. He took a sea-salt ice cream from his pocket.

Axel's green eyes were fixated on the ice cream that Saix had. '_Is this supposed to be some kind of trick?'_ He thought. '_The last time we had ice cream together was when…,_' He paused remembering the last time they shared a moment like this together. It was after they had tried to help the survivors in Radiant Garden from the Heartless attack. After that things changed between them and their friendship slowly dwindled to just being comrades working under the same leader.

"To have a purpose again." Saix said bluntly.

"What purpose?" Axel asked.

"To be whole again." Saix replied.

* * *

Sora's blue eyes fluttered open. He sleepily yawned.

"WAKE UP SORA!" Donald screamed in his ear.

Sora fell out from the pod landing on his face. "Ow…! Donald! What was that for?!" The boy yelled.

"What makes you think you can go back to sleep?!" Doanld shouted.

Goofy smiled at the boy and then looked over at Lira and Levina. "A-hyuck! It's Lira!"

Donald quacked turning around. "Lira!" He ran over hugging the older woman.

"Good to see you too Donald!" Lira smiled.

Donald let go of her and then saw Levina. "Wait a second…you're…!"

Levina lightly smiled at the duck. "You forgot my name already, Donald?"

"Gawrsh we were sure worried about you, Levina!" Goofy said shaking the girl's hand. "Master Yen Sid wanted to make sure you were safe!"

"But that was a long time ago!" Donald retorted. "I'm just glad Lira found her! Now all we have to do is find the king!"

"It's so good to see you two again!" Levina smiled.

"Sora come over here and meet a friend of ours!" Goofy beamed happily.

Sora got up off the floor rubbing the back of his head as he walked over letting out a yawn. The boy was still fighting off the fatigue from his yearlong sleep.

"I'm Sora…," The boy introduced himself to Levina. He held out his hand to her. "It's nice to meet…" He paused looking at Levina and felt his heart thump. '_That's weird…,_' He thought. '_Why does my heart feel…funny…?_' He wondered. '_Like I've seen her before…_' He thought looking at the girl in front of him. "Have we met before?" He asked.

Levina shook her head shaking the boy's hand. "No, I'm Levina." She smiled at the boy.

Sora adorably smiled back at her. "Any friend of Donald and Goofy is a friend of mine!" He said folding his arms behind his head.

"Now that we all know each other," Lira said. "Let's get out of here."

Sora looked around. "But where are we?" He asked.

"Beats me." Donald said and began walking out of the Twilight Town mansion.

The five of them passed the pods that Donald and Goofy were sleeping in.

"We were asleep in those pods over there." Donald pointed to the open pod.

"I feel like I had a really long dream…" Sora mused quietly looking down at his palm where he saw Jiminy Cricket asleep. "Hey, Jiminy wake up." He urged the small cricket.

Jiminy was busy having peaceful dreams of his own when Sora shook him and the cricket jumped up wide awake. "That goodness it was all a dream!" The cricket chimed.

"Why do you have a cricket?" Levina asked.

"Jiminy here records all our data from every adventure we had!" Goofy answered.

"You can find out everything about our adventure!" Jiminy handed Levina the journal he always kept with him.

The girl looked at the book with Lira peering over her shoulder.

"Why are the pages all blank?" Lira asked curiously.

"What?!" Jiminy exclaimed hopping over to take a look. "Oh no!" He panicked. "The entire record of our journey is gone!"

"Maybe it's written in invisible ink." Goofy though optimistically.

"Don't be stupid!" Donald huffed.

"There is one thing written in my journal." Jiminy said and everyone saw the words, "Thank Naminé."

Jiminy scratched his head in confusion. "That's odd," He said. "I don't remember writing that at all."

"So none of us remember how we got here?" Sora sighed.

"Does it really matter?" Donald asked. "At least we're all safe and sound."

Sora smiled at this as an idea suddenly struck him as they reached the door to the Twilight Town manor. "Let's go outside!"

"You don't even care!" Donald quacked out raged.

"Of course he does Donald." Goofy said.

"Come on guys!" Sora beamed. "Maybe we can find the king and Riku!"

"That's right!" Goofy remembered along with Donald.

"We're supposed to find the king!" Donald added.

* * *

Everyone reached Twilight Town. To everyone's surprise there was a festival going on to celebrate the last day of summer vacation.

"Wow!" Sora gasped at all the food and decorations everywhere.

"It's a festival!" Levina beamed equally as excited as Sora.

"We don't have time for this." Lira said.

"That's right we have to find the king!" Donald added.

"Aw it'll only be for a little while." Sora pleaded with his friends and then on a strange impulse took Levina's hand. "Come on!" He beamed at her. "It'll be fun!"

Levina laughed and ran off with Sora. "We'll be back soon!" She called out to Lira.

"Sora!" Donald yelled. "Get back here!" He looked for Goofy. "Goofy!" He yelled seeing his friend playing one of the free games. It was called dippin' for godfish.

"Just one more try." Goofy asked trying to win a pet goldfish.

Lira face palmed watching Sora and Levina run off trying to have some fun. "Those two are going to be the death of me."

"I don't believe this!" Donald huffed. "Those two better get back here right this second!"

They suddenly heard a commotion from behind them.

"Your elbow rammed into me!" It was Seifer. "You made me mess up!"

"Me?" Hayner asked.

"Yeah you!" Seifer growled at Hayner. Pence and Olette were beside their friend.

"Uh-Oh it's a fight." Donald nervously said.

"Stop it!" Sora yelled looking at the two of them.

Seifer lightly glared at the boy. "You want a piece of me too shrimp?" He threatened.

"Quit fighting," Sora told him taking off a mask that he had just won in one of the festival games. "Grow up already!"

"S-Sora!" Donald stammered.

Seifer shoved Hayner aside and grabbed Sora by the front of his shirt.

"Sora…" Levina called out in concern as she handed a candy apple to Lira.

"Maybe I'd listen to you if you'd get clothes your own size!" Seifer sneered noticing that Sora's clothes were too short to fit him. He was about to knock the boy to the ground when Sora retaliated with the mask he had just won. He threw it like a Frisbee which landed on Seifer's face causing him to back off and let go of the smaller boy.

"You're gonna pay for this!" Seifer snarled running off to his friends.

"Hey way to go dude." Hayner smiled at Sora.

"No one's ever stood up to Seifer like that." Olette said.

"You've got some guts kid." Pence said while stuffing his face with assorted pieces of meat.

Sora introduced himself to Hayner, Pence, and Olette. It seemed like an instant bond between the four of them. They all became friends really quickly.

"If you want come to the station." Olette smiled at them.

"Yeah we're gonna go eat ice cream!" Pence beamed at the thought.

"That is if Pence doesn't pig out on all of them." Hayner said.

"That sounds like fun!" Sora smiled at his new friends.

"Absolutely not!" Donald quacked. "We have to find the king!"

"That's right; you've had your fun now let's focus on what's important." Lira added.

* * *

Sora and the others were filling Hayner, Pence and Olette on everything they had been through.

"You don't know where you came from?" Pence asked. "Now that's mysterious." A thought suddenly struck him and he looked at Sora again. "Maybe you had brain surgery and got your memory removed while you were asleep."

"Feel free to ignore him." Hayner said. "Maybe riding the train will jog your memory."

For some strange reason, Sora couldn't stop smiling at the three of them.

"What are you grinning for?" Hayner asked.

Sora stopped smiling and asked, "Was I grinning?"

"You sure are weird." Olette replied.

Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry…" He told them. '_Something does feel weird…,_' He thought curiously.

Suddenly Donald and Goofy heard rustling nearby.

"What is it?" Lira asked them.

"There's something there!" Donald quacked.

Everyone jumped back as they saw Dusks leap out at them.

"What are those things?!" Hayner, Pence, and Olette screamed.

Sora, Donald, Lira and Goofy made their weapons materialize in their hands.

"There's too many of them!" Levina said making her Starlight keyblade appear.

Sora looked at her. "You've got a keyblade too?" He asked.

Levina nodded and was suddenly pushed back as Sora struck down one of the Dusks with his Kingdom Key keyblade. '_Why do I feel so over protective of Levina? We just met…and I feel like…,_' He thought. _'Like I don't want anything to happen to her…'_

"Sora!" Goofy panicked as he and the others found themselves surrounded by the Dusks.

"Now what do we do?" Donald asked.

Sora held his keyblade tightly in his hand despite everything looking hopeless.

The Dusks lashed out them and were suddenly halted by a familiar face. King Mickey dawned in an Organization coat flipped in the air swinging his keyblade at the enemies that threatened to hurt his friends.

"You gotta board the train and leave town!" Mickey ordered. "The train knows the way!"

"Your majesty!" Donald quacked.

"Shhh." Mickey told his companions.

"Come with us!" Lira told him.

"I can't go back just yet." Mickey replied. '_Not until I find Riku_,' He thought wearily. '_I need to help him conquer the darkness inside his heart so that he can return to normal._' He tossed a pouch of munny over to Sora. It was the same pouch which was stolen from Roxas.

"Your majesty wait…!" Sora called out but Mickey ran off.

"What was that all about?" Hayner wondered.

Goofy walked over to the ticket stand and purchased tickets for everyone. Everyone soon headed towards the station where there was a magical train waiting for them.

"I hope there's something good to eat on this train." Goofy chimed happily boarding.

"The sooner we get to where we're going the better." Donald said.

"At least we know the king's ok." Lira added walking into the train. '_Does this mean I won't see Axel again?'_ She thought. She squeezed her fists. '_I totally want to get even with that jerk for trashing our gummi ship!'_

Levina stepped into the train and looked back at Sora. "Aren't you coming?" She asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Sora stammered. "In a second…" He looked at Hayner, Pence, and Olette. "Take care."

Hayner, Pence, and Olette waved good-bye.

"You too." Hayner said to him.

Sora suddenly felt sad. Like he was saying good-bye to friends he had been with forever. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Why am I crying?" He thought to himself. "I don't know where that came from."

The three kids smiled at him. "Make sure to come back!" Hayner said.

"Yeah!" Sora sniffled. "That's a promise!" He boarded the train and the train went on its journey to its destination.

"What a weird kid…" Hayner said.

"He seemed really nice though." Olette added.

"Yeah but…," Pence began. "It feels like we've met him before."

* * *

**Ughhhh curse you KH manga! Giving me all these bro3tp Axel, Roxas, and Saix feels! Ugh I think I've seriously been converted into an Org 13 fan girl hehe. **

**Just to clarify Sora and Levina aren't going to really end up together, I ship Sora/Kairi :) But since Ven's heart is inside of Sora, he's going to be a confused person throughout the entire fic lol. **

**Review :D **


	10. The Key to the Light

**New chapter everyone! **

**Not a lot happening in this one D: It's a lot of exposition and explaining. Filler chapter is filler, but feel free to read it anyway :D **

* * *

Chapter 10: The Key to the Light

Donald and Goofy were sitting on the soft cushion of the train. The magical train was now in the middle of the sky following a magical path of train tracks.

"Wow! Look at the view!" Levina chimed staring out the star shaped window. They were now passing Twilight Town. Everything could be seen from where the train was. She lightly smiled seeing Hayner, Pence, and Olette eating ice cream on the Clock Tower.

"How long do we have to sit here?" Lira wondered running her fingers through her hair.

"Gawrsh Lira, the King said the train knows the way." Goofy said with a bright smile.

"We can trust King Mickey." Donald added.

Sora looked at the pouch he was holding in his hand. The munny was enough for the train ride, but there was something else inside it. The boy took out a crystal blue orb, the same crystal orb which belonged to Roxas's trophy.

"What's that?" Donald asked.

"It was in the pouch the king gave me," Sora answered holding the crystal orb in his hand and holding it out to the window. The sunlight was reflecting off the orb. For a brief moment Sora felt like this was all too natural to him. '_It sure is pretty.'_ He thought.

* * *

"They've left," Riku said looking at DiZ. They were both in the Twilight Town mansion. DiZ apprehensively sat in his chair mulling the situation over.

'_I was close…,_' DiZ thought. '_All of this is in Sora's hands now. My revenge will have to wait._' He bowed his head staring down at the musty carpet. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. '_Stringing along the keyblade wielders of the light was simple. I've caused too much harm to countless lives. This was not what I had in might when Xehanort took over my life's research and my world._' The bandaged man squeezed his fists and tightly shut his eyes. The thought of hearing Xehanort's name in his head caused him to become frustrated and angry.

Riku remained silent. He knew DiZ was struggling with some personal issues.

"I should be going too." Riku spoke breaking the unmoving silence in the room.

"We'll meet again." DiZ said to him. "In all the time we've been working together I don't think I've gotten your name young man."

Riku had already reached the door. His gloved fingers twitched against the door knob as DiZ said this. "My name…," He paused. He didn't want anyone to know who he really was. '_Not like this…,'_ He thought. '_I can't go by my name while my body is still possessed by Ansem_.' An unnerving idea struck him. "It's Ansem…" He said leaving through the door.

"It's been a pleasure, Ansem…" DiZ said lightly grinning.

* * *

"This must be it!" Pete said with glee. It had been ten years since he caused trouble at the Million Dreams Festival. He was trying so hard to dupe Terra, Ven, Aqua, Levina, and ruin the festival, but his antics caused Queen Minnie to banish the large trouble maker out of Disney Town. After his banishment, Pete had befriended and allied with Maleficent. He was second in command of the Heartless. Though Sora was victorious over defeating Maleficent when he arrived in Hollow Bastion, Pete was still causing mischief.

"Castle of the mighty wizard, Yen Sid!" He looked at the Tower gaping at where the former Keyblade Master resided in.

A surrealistic, crooked, golden-brown tower was standing in Pete's view.

The Tower is topped with blue cone-shaped turret roofs, decorated with moons and stars, similar to Yen Sid's hat. It was resting on a floating island that contains a courtyard and many trees that obscure the rest of the Countryside from view.

He turned to a group of Shadow Heartless. "Go get 'em!" He ordered the small Heartless. "We won't stop until this world is ours!"

* * *

"Are we there yet?!" Sora lazily asked while lying on the seat. He smiled at the blue orb in his hand.

"It's been about two hours since we left the station." Goofy said idly working on a crossword puzzle.

"That long?!" Sora whined. "Where's this train taking us anyway?!"

Levina lightly smiled hearing Sora complaining. '_He reminds me so much of Ven…_' She thought and then frowned. '_I wonder if he's ok._'

"I don't know," Donald answered Sora's question. "But it must be someplace important or the King wouldn't have sent us."

"A-hyuck! K…I…N…G!" Goofy brightly wrote down the word 'king' on his crossword puzzle. "Thanks Donald!"

"How can you do a crossword puzzle at a time like this, Goofy?" Lira questioned, but then again this was Goofy. He didn't need a reason.

"Look I see something!" Sora pointed out the window. Everyone saw Yen Sid's Tower in the distance. "A tower!"

"It's Master Yen Sid's Tower!" Levina exclaimed. '_It's been such a long time since I've been here.'_ She thought. _'I wonder if he knows where Ven and Aqua are._' She already knew the troubling fate that befell Terra. She hoped that her other friends were safe.

Everyone suddenly heard and explosion coming from the tower. Smoke was billowing from one of the windows as the train came to a stop. The doors to the train slid open and everyone stepped out.

"Master Yen Sid's Tower!" Donald said happily.

"Gawrsh I hope he knows what's goin' on." Goofy wondered.

"Look!" Sora saw someone falling from the window completely covered in smoke. It was Pete.

"That was a lucky shot!" Pete coughed grabbing onto the ledge of the window and climbing back in.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Lira, and Levina quickly raced up the steps of the Tower.

* * *

"You're gonna regret this!" Pete huffed.

"Leave my sight you fool," Yen Sid ordered Pete. "I would never side with the likes of your kind."

Sora and the others barged into Yen Sid's room with their weapons in hand. However, it seemed as though they didn't need to fight since Yen Sid was able to hold Pete off.

Seeing Sora show up with his keyblade in hand Pete knew he wouldn't be able to take them all on. He quickly opened a dark corridor. "Suit yourself!" He barked. "You'll see Maleficent will turn you into a Heartless!" He shook his fist angrily. "Then you'll be taking orders from me!"

"Maleficent you say?" Yen Sid questioned while sitting on his chair stroking his beard. "If I'm not mistaken, I do believe that the witch is dead."

"Wha…?" Pete asked flabbergasted. "What did you say?!" He suddenly fell over as Sora swung his keyblade at Pete. The large dog growled in frustration tumbling into the dark corridor behind him.

Yen Sid looked over seeing Sora, Donald, Goofy, Lira, and Levina. He smiled at Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Well it's good to see you three," His smile grew admirably larger as he saw Lira with Levina by her side. "It is good to see you both as well." He said with a small nod.

Immediately Donald, Goofy, Lira, and Levina bowed to the wise old sorcerer.

Sora looked over at his friends confused as to why they were bowing since he never met Yen Sid before.

"Master Yen Sid!" Goofy said.

"It's an honor to return to you!" Donald said. He then saw Sora still standing and quacked angrily. "Sora show some respect!"

"Huh? Why?" Sora asked and was pulled down to bow to Yen Sid by Donald yanking his arm and pulling him to the floor.

"He's the king's teacher!" Donald yelled.

Yen Sid cleared his throat causing Donald and Sora to stop arguing and fighting with one another. They all looked at the wise mage.

"I have received the king's message," Yen Sid told them. "You've come a long way." He ushered them to sit down. "Have you seen the king yet?"

"Yes but…," Donald began.

"He ran off before we could talk to him." Sora finished Donald's reply.

Yen Sid waved his hands over the large table between them and a banquet of cakes and other assortments of food appeared on the table.

"Yes," Yen Sid replied to Sora's response. "He has unfinished business to attend to."

"Unfinished business?" Donald asked.

Levina looked at Yen Sid eagerly. "Master Yen Sid," She began. "You have to tell me where Aqua and Ven are…" She looked at the wise mage pleadingly. "I need to find them…!"

Yen Sid looked at the anxious girl. "I wish I could, Levina," He told her. "But even my profound magic and knowledge cannot locate them. However, the light in their hearts are still shining brightly. It is unfortunate to say that I cannot say the same for Terra."

Levina lowered her head disdainfully.

"You're with us now." Lira told her comfortingly. "You've got nothing to worry about.

"Don't worry Levina!" Sora reassured her. "We'll find your friends!" He said with a bright smile.

"Your courage is admirable Sora," Yen Sid said. "your past endevours did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the darkness," He noticed the cheeky grins on Sora, Donald, and Goofy's faces. "However, the worlds are now facing a new threat."

"What?!" Sora exclaimed.

"Do you of the Nobodies?" Yen Sid asked them.

"Nobodies?" Donald asked.

"They're people with no hearts." Lira answered.

"Correct." Yen Sid said. "If one yields to the darkness in their heart, that heart leaves the flesh and becomes what you know as a Heartless. A Heartless has no power of reason. It will attack humans in an attempt to steal their heart. At times if someone with a strong heart becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The former Keyblade Master manifested an illusion of Dusks to appear before them.

"Hey its those things we saw at the train station!" Sora gasped.

"These shells are called Nobodies." Yen Sid explained.

"Nobodies…" Sora repeated the word.

The elderly mage snapped his fingers and Organization 13 appeared in front of them.

"It's them!" Levina yelled frightfully. "Those were the people who held me prisoner… She told the former master. "They wanted to…," She cringed at the thought. "Transform my heart into someone else…"

"Among the Nobodies are a special breed with the intellect and appearance of humans," Yen Sid continued. "They have formed a group to command the lesser Nobodies. They call themselves Organization 13."

"Just like how Maleficent was controlling the Heartless." Goofy said.

"Correct," Yen Sid replied. "We do not know what their goal is. Nevertheless, King Mickey has sensed danger and has gone forth travelling from world to world in an effort to discover their intent."

"So that's what the King meant," Donald said remembering what Mickey had said to them earlier on the train station in Twilight Town. He then looked at Yen Sid. "Master Yen Sid! We're going to help the king! Don't try to stop us!"

Yen Sid smiled. "I knew you would say that," He then turned to Lira and Levina. "What about you two?"

"There's not much I can do," Levina said. "Maybe finding King Mickey will lead me to finding the rest of my friends." She thought hopeful.

"I've got my sights on one of the members of Organization 13!" Lira flared angrily thinking of Axel. "I'm in too."

Yen Sid turned to Sora. "What about you?" He asked.

Sora thought about this for a moment. He remembered how he had promised Kairi he would come back with Riku. "I thought I'd get to go home," He said. "I promised Kairi, that I'd find Riku and bring him home." A small sigh escaped his lips as he thought of her. "All this time, she's been waiting on the island." He lightly smiled. "I suppose she can wait a little longer and so will Riku. If the worlds are in danger we're going to have to set things right."

"Sora!" Donald screamed at the boy. "We're doing this while we look for Riku too!"

Yen Sid saw them getting ready to leave. "Before you go," He called out to them. "You will need more suitable traveling clothes." He shouted for the three good fairies. "Flora! Fauna, Merryweather!"

The three good fairies of Enchanted Dominion floated over to Yen Sid's guests. They saw Sora, Lira, and Levina's clothes and gasped.

"My, oh my," Flora spoke. "You dearies can't go out saving the world in those dreadful things."

"You'll need some new clothes." Merryweather said.

"Any ideas?" Fauna asked her sisters.

"How about this?" Flora flicked her wand at Sora. The boy was covered in a ball gown dress.

"Ah!" Sora screamed. "I can't go out like this!"

"Oh no dear," Fauna said. "You can't put the boy in a ball gown."

"Then how about something blue?" Merryweather flicked her wand transforming Sora's clothes all blue.

"No, pink!" Fauna said transforming Sora's outfit pink.

"What about green?" Flora suggested.

Sora's patience was slowly wearing thin. "How about you three agree on something for each of us before this gets too out of hand?" He suggested.

"He's right sisters," Fauna told her sisters. "Together now."

With a flick of their wands, the good fairies transformed Lira's, Levina's and Sora's outfit.

Lira was now fashioning a black bodysuit with a white popped up collar. A red belt around her neck was holding the jacket in place. She had white gloves on her hands and knee high laced black boots.

Levina was wearing a yellow strapless mini-dress. The shoulders of the dress were puffed up to resembling the renaissance Princesses of Heart's dresses. Her wayfinder necklace was hanging around her neck fastened securely to her cape. She had a small yellow cape and shorts with a pink belt securing the outfit together. She had matching yellow gloves and ankle boots.

Sora's outfit was now black and silver outfit that, while remaining baggy, like his original outfit. It contains a darker style using many zippers and extra leggings but still retains his crown necklace. The hoodie is colored black, with silver pauldron-like additions to his sleeves and white lining. His undershirt is a navy blue with a red patch in the center. His pants are black on the outside, and a navy blue on the inside, lined with silver-white edging. Yellow straps criss-cross around his pants, held together with a black belt. The pants feature red pockets with a black cross over them. His gloves are colored black on the outside and white on the inside with a yellow line running around them. He also wears large black-yellow shoes with silver soles, a zipper running across the top, and black straps holding them together with buckles here and there. Sora's crown pendant is present on this attire.

"Oooh, it's lovely!" Flora chimed.

"You all look very dashing!" Fauna told them.

Yen Sid smiled approvingly at the wielders of light. He gestured towards the window. "The King left you this."

To Lira's and Levina's surprise, they and everyone else saw the gummi ship repaired and in-tact.

"It's the gummi ship!" Lira smiled.

"Now we can travel to all the different worlds again!" Donald beamed.

"The pathways connecting to the worlds you previously visited have been sealed off," Yen Sid told them. "But unlocking new gates will reopen the pathways to you. You will need the power of the keyblade."

At this, Sora made his Kingdom Key keyblade appear in his hand. "Got it." He said.

"Chosen key bearer," Yen Sid said. "You are the key who will open the door to the light."

The five saluted to the aged master.

"Master Yen Sid!" Donald said. "We'll be on our way!"

They boarded the gummi ship and headed off to find their friends hoping to stop the darkness from spreading again.

"What answer will Sora find?" Fauna asked.

"Light and darkness cannot exist without each other," Yen Sid replied. "As long as there is light, darkness will be born." He then thought of what Levina had said, about the Organization wanting her heart to be someone else's. '_What is Master Xehanort planning?'_ He thought nervously.

* * *

Pete returned to the remnants of the Hollow Bastion castle. It was left in shambles after Sora had defeated Maleficent and this world was slowly being put back together by the residents of this world.

"That lousy sorcerer!" Pete huffed. "I'm soaked down to my pants!" He grumbled. "Ain't no way Maleficent's dead! He musta made the whole thing up!" He yelled. "Maleficent!" He tried calling out to the dark fairy. "Anybody home?!" He sneezed as he felt a cold draft.

Pete frowned lowering his head. "Maybe they did finish her off." He then suddenly saw Maleficent's pet crow. The faithful bird dropped the witch's cloak to the ground that was hanging from its mouth.

"Who did you saw was 'finished off?' Maleficent's voice boomed.

Pete jumped back a little in fright.

"Did you think I was finished so easily?" The dark fairy asked her minion.

"Y-You're…Maleficent!" Pete stammered shaking in his large boots.

"You are late, Pete," Maleficent said as she rose from her untimely demise. '_Xehanort promised me power and I plan to get it.'_ She thought wickedly. "We shall eclipse every world with darkness! All the worlds will be ours!"

* * *

**World visiting shenanigans are a go :D **

**Review :) **


	11. Hollow Bastion Team Assemble!

**Those who have been following this story from the beginning during Birth By Sleep's story line I added the Final Fantasy 4 characters. They are not in Kingdom Hearts at all, but I decided to add them cuz why not? :D **

**For the Final Fantasy 4 crew, I'm using most of their After Years look. That's right Ceodore is making an appearance in this fic :D**

**If you need a refresher on who made an appearance read Unbreakable Connection chapter 17 to get you up to speed and then come back and read this chapter! **

**Onto the shenanigans! **

* * *

Chapter 11 – Hollow Bastion Team Assemble!

"You've gotta keep smiling!" Chip instructed.

"Don't let the corners of your mouth droop!" Dale told the new passengers of the gummi ship.

"This ship runs on happy faces!" Chip chimed grinning.

"Are you serious?" Lira frowned crossing her arms over her chest.

"My cheeks are getting numb from all this smiling." Sora smiled from ear to ear grinning like the Cheshire Cat in Wonderland.

"Amateur." Donald teased while smiling big.

Levina noticed the fuel gauge on the screen. "We're running out of fuel!" She cried out while keeping a smile on her face. The fuel gauge was slowly teetering towards empty fuel.

"Lira you have to smile!" Donald quacked.

"You've got to be kidding me," Lira continued to sulk. "It can't be because I'm not smiling that the ship is running out of fuel."

"Just do it!" Donald screamed at her.

"Just think of something happy, Lira, A-yuck!" Goofy told her with a bright smile.

Lira thought of something happy. It was someone who she had gotten close to while training in Feymarch with Rydia. She pursed her lips together smiling as an image of a knight in dark, dragoon armor flashed in her head.

"That's the spirit!" Chip beamed.

"She's finally smilin', Donald!" Goofy told his friend.

"Can't you see I'm trying to fly the ship?" Donald replied and then was suddenly shoved off the cock-pit by Sora.

"Then let me fly the ship!" Sora beamed eagerly.

"I don't think that's such a good idea –" Donald was cut off by Sora saying, "Oh don't worry."

"Sora, the last time you flew the gummi ship you crashed it!" Donald squawked watching dreadfully as Sora grabbed the controls causing the ship to plummet between worlds.

"Wak!" Donald yelled." STOP IT WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs while trying to keep a smile on his face.

"Oh no!" Sora yelled pulling up on the control stick of the ship.

"That's enough!" Donald yelled. "Give me back the control stick!" The duck huffed while getting back on the center control of the gummi ship.

"Aw come on I was just getting warmed up." Sora said.

"Yeah you gave us all whip lash you little pest." Lira scoffed.

"He wasn't that bad." Levina said while rubbing the back of her head.

Donald looked at Chip and Dale asking, "What's the first world?"

"Let's see," Chip indicated on the map. "The only gate that's open leads to Hollow Bastion."

"That's where Leon lives!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said in unison happily.

"Leon? Is he a friend of yours?" Levina asked.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, we've got a lot of friends in different worlds!"

* * *

Hollow Bastion formerly known as Radiant Garden was under siege by the Heartless. They were still trying to take over this world and plunge it into darkness enforcing Maleficent's orders and power.

"Someone help!" A woman screamed as Shadow Heartless lunged at her.

"Man," Yuffie sighed wielding her 4-point shrunken. "They just keep on coming." A year had passed since the events of what took place in Hollow Bastion. This world was her and her friends home. She stared hard at the Shadow Heartless with her violet eyes. Her outfit was swapped from her original forehead guard for a regular black headband with white lining. She was wearing an unzipped, dark grey combat vest with a black strap dangling from the right pocket overtop a navy blue tank top with white floral designs. She also wore a white wristband on her right wrist and a grey, fingerless glove on her left arm. Her shorts are slightly darker and have another black strap dangling from the left side. She also wears black, knee-high socks with white stripes at the top underneath dark tan boots that are slightly shorter than her socks.

Running her fingers through her short hair, the ninja looked at the woman being assaulted by the Heartless. "Get down!" She instructed.

The woman being chased by the Shadows ducked as Yuffie threw her shrunken at the dark creatures. The Shadow heartless disappeared into a puff of black smoke as the ninja's weapon came into contact.

"There we go!" Yuffie said in relief.

"Yuffie!" The ninja turned around seeing Leon.

"Everything's clear over here!" Yuffie said.

"Good," Leon replied trying to fight off a group of Shadow Heartless trying to damage one of the many shops that were recently put up. "Then how about helping me over here!"

Using his signature gunblade, Leon swung at the Heartless with his sword. "This isn't working, there's too many of them." He growled in frustration.

Two twin staves suddenly spit out fire at the Shadows. It was Palom and Porom. Palom's hair has grown longer and he wears it in a braid with a hair ornament. He still has his costume, which worn under a blue coat with a shoulder pad and a white scarf with green stripes. His sister Porom, now has pink hair, along with an ensemble of a mini-dress, striped stockings and a cloak.

"It's Ansem the Wise's mages!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"We figured you could use our help." Palom said.

Porom nodded. "We'll protect our home too until Ansem the Wise returns."

"Thanks for the help!" Yuffie smiled and looked at Leon. "Isn't it great? It's good to have an extra hand or two." She said optimistically. "Wonder if Ansem the Wise has his knights are running around here too?"

Leon on the other hand wasn't used to receiving help. "I could've handled those Heartless."

"Then why'd you ask for help before?" Yuffie asked cheekily grinning.

"I was just making sure you were up for the challenge." Leon retorted.

"Uh huh," Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Just admit it, you needed help!"

Leon was about to retort a reply when more Shadow heartless emerged.

"Told you we needed more help!" Yuffie yelled.

Palom and Porom quickly leaped in the air landing in front of the two civilians who were trying to defend the broken city.

"These are too many." Palom said.

"Our magic can't hold off all these creatures." Porom added.

The mages suddenly looked relieved at the Heartless surrounding them suddenly vanished.

"Cecil!" Palom said happily.

"Kain's with him too!" Porom added smiling brightly.

Cecil was now wearing a suit of white armor, but with dark spikes on the knees and pauldrons, and a brown cloak with blue stripes around the neck. Kain was still wearing his signature dragoon armor.

"Are you alright?" Cecil asked.

"We're fine." Yuffie answered for the group.

"Cecil, you should return to Rosa and your son Ceodore." Kain told his friend tightly gripping his spear. "I'll lay waste to these dark creatures invading our home."

"Our liege left me in charge if anything were to happen to him or this kingdom," Cecil replied to his friend. "I won't just idly sit by and watch the Heartless destroy everything we've worked so hard to rebuild."

"Besides I don't think you have to worry about your son." Yuffie pointed nearby and everyone saw a young boy about the age of fifteen. The boy's short, spiky blond hair was flowing in the wind as he fought off more Shadows. His light blue eyes steely glaring at the strange creatures invading his home. He was wearing a blue suit of armor with a red and white scarf around his neck.

Ceodore panted hard gripping his sword tightly. The boy had only begun training to be a knight like his father.

"Ceodore!" Cecil yelled. "I thought I told you to stay with your mother."

Ceodore only replied by swinging his sword at the last Shadow heartless. "I won't learn anything by staying home, father." He replied. "I want to be brave and strong like you. I want to help the people here."

"The kid's definitely brave for coming out here." Yuffie smiled.

"I've even go to give the kid credit." Leon added.

"He has your heart, Cecil." Kain said to his friend.

Cecil let out a defeated sigh. "You can stay and fight, but not for too long." He instructed his son.

The boy meekly smiled hearing praise from the townspeople.

"Thank you so much!" One civilian said.

"What a fine young lad." Another civilian said.

"We'll bill you later." Yuffie grinned.

"Yuffie…" Leon said in a disappointed tone.

"What?" Yuffie asked. "We need all the munny we can get to restore our defense system. Cid's been working on it all day at Merlin's place. There's not a lot he can do without the right materials."

"Ceodore there you are!" Rosa ran over to her son tightly hugging him. She was wearing a long-sleeved and floor-length white gown with small horned pauldrons and a silver belt around her waist. She wore fingerless gloves, gray sandals, and a decorated pink and purple cape. Her hair is still styled as a half updo, but it is mostly concealed by her cape and she now has longer bangs framing her face.

"M-Mother I am fine…," Ceodore stammered trying to get away from his mother's embrace. "I was just helping."

Rosa smiled at her son. "Next time just tell me where you're going." She gestured towards a semi-large yellow bird frantically searching for Ceodore. The friendly creature nuzzled its short beak against Ceodore affectionately.

"Sky, stop that." Ceodore pushed the friendly chocobo away.

"You know how anxious he gets when you forget to feed him." Rosa told her son.

"I know, I know…" Ceodore said pulling out green leaves called gyshai greens from his pocket feeding the large bird.

Everyone looked at the castle in the distance that was taken over by Maleficent and Pete. They continued to hear praises from the townspeople of how hard they were working to keep the town safe.

"Protecting the town, huh?" Yuffie mused.

"If only we could make it peaceful here." Rosa sighed.

"Then no one would have to live in fear," Leon looked at his gunblade gripping it tightly. "We wouldn't have to use these weapons."

"One day this world will retain its peace again." Cecil reassured everyone.

"Look!" Porom cried out as more Heartless resurfaced attacking the town again.

"Aw man…," Yuffie groaned. "Not again."

"I'll go take care of it." Leon told her.

"No you won't be able to stop them by yourself." Kain told the lone warrior.

"We will help you too." Palom said.

Leon slowly nodded. There was no way he was going to argue with Ansem the Wise's finest warriors.

"Looks like we've still got a long way to go." Yuffie said.

'_Yeah, a really long, long way to go.'_ Leon thought heading off to fight again.

* * *

"Pete!" Maleficent bellowed from the halls of the castle. "Where are you?!"

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm commin'!" Pete yelled back while stirring a pot of stew to eat. He quickly rushed over to the wicked fairy and almost fell over as Maleficent appeared in front of him.

"You will address me with respect!" Maleficent seethed at her underling.

"Yes ma'am!" Pete saluted.

The dark fairy used her powers to fling the pot that Pete was using and threw it at him. "Look at this dust!" She growled. "Do it right!" She gazed out the window looking at castle which was now refuge for the civilians of Hollow Bastion. That's where Leon and the others were building a new town. "I think I'll move back into the castle, once those fools are finished with the renovations. It was mine to begin with."

"So didja get kicked out?" Pete asked picking up the pot off his head. "Was it true they beat ya?"

Maleficent glared at Pete being reminded of how Riku had betrayed her after she had given the powers of darkness and how Sora, Donald, and Goofy had defeated her. "I had an ungrateful pet," She told him referring to Riku. "He bit me before I could take over." She suddenly came up to Pete's face menacingly staring at him. "_I trust you will not betray me?!"_

"No course not!" Pete shrieked. "I owe ya! I'd never betray you!"

"I appreciate your devotion." Maleficent replied calmly patting the terrified dog.

'_If I ever thought of betrayin' her, I'd be dead meat._' Pete thought fearfully as he cleaned up.

"You've done enough cleaning," Maleficent said swaying her hand making a dark corridor appear. "I want you to travel to other worlds and gather heartless for our army."

Staring at the dark manifestation in front of him Pete quivered. "Usin' those corridors of darkness make me queasy!" He confessed.

"Such complaints…" Maleficent growled.

Pete gulped expecting to be hit again, but instead received a protective spell against the dark corridor.

"There this spell will protect you." Maleficent reassured him.

"But why do we need so many heartless anyways?" Pete asked. "There's already a bunch of heartless crawlin' around here."

"Imbecile!" Maleficent scoffed. "Don't you understand what it means to conquer the worlds?!"

"Uh…well…yeah!" Pete replied.

"We will place every last heartless from every world under our command," Maleficent told him. "_When we do, everything in every world will be ours!"_

Hearing this Pete grinned with joy. "Not sure if I understand ya, but I'll do it!" He said eagerly.

"Don't disappoint me." Maleficent said threateningly as she watched Pete leave through the dark corridor. "Everything will be _mine_! I will not fail again."

* * *

"We finally made it!" Donald said in relief.

"I'll say my cheeks were killing me from all that smiling." Sora added.

"Gawrsh it's sure been a long time since we've been here." Goofy said observantly as everyone stepped out of the gummi ship.

Levina looked around. She hadn't been to this world in such a long time. She missed the waterfall fountain and flowers in the town square. "Everything sure has changed."

"The last time we came here it was infested with heartless," Donald said. "No one could live here."

"A-hyuck! They even added shops!" Goofy eagerly walked over.

"Wonder if I can buy something here." Lira picked up a mace in her hand.

Donald picked up a spiky helmet and placed it over how do I look?" He asked his friends.

"Over there!" Sora suddenly yelled.

Everyone followed Sora's finger to where he was pointing. They all saw Shadows on top of the store.

"Heartless!" Levina gasped.

Sora was the first to react he made his keyblade appear in his hand and jumped up on the roof of the store.

"Wow, he's like a ninja." Donald said. "When did he learn to do that?" The duck wondered puzzled.

"Sora, get down here!" Lira screamed.

"But I'm the only one who can stop them!" Sora told her swinging his keyblade at the Shadow heartless. He jumped back as a small pillar of light appeared on the ground out of nowhere. "Whoa!" He yelled moving back. "That almost scared me." He saw the small pillars of light destroying the heartless. "What is this?" He wondered.

"Sora!" Yuffie yelled. She waved at the boy. "It's really you!" She smiled. "Long time no see!"

"Yuffie!" Sora beamed.

Yuffie waved at Donald and Goofy who quickly introduced her to Lira and Levina.

"I can't believe it's been a whole year…" Yuffie said to her friends as they reunited. They walked around town getting reacquainted. "We're fixing up the castle too." She reassured her friends as they saw the castle in the distance.

"Looks like you've got a lot of patching up to do." Sora said.

"But it's our home…" Yuffie told the boy. "I want to make it peaceful no matter how long it takes. Ansem the Wise's royal knights and mages are even helping us out. Even Cecil's kid is giving us a helping hand."

"Ansem the Wise's knights?" Lira questioned. She angrily balled her fists. '_That means he's been here the entire time!'_ She thought bitterly. _'Kain you no good lousy dragoon! Why didn't you tell me you were here?!' _

Levina looked at Lira seeing her fuming. "What's the matter?" She asked.

"It's nothing…" Lira growled under her breath.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sora asked.

"Yeah we've been having a lot of trouble with the heartless," Yuffie explained. "Leon'll be happy to heart that keyblade wielder's finally here."

Everyone suddenly saw Dusks roaming the area with every Shadow heartless that fell.

"It's a Nobody!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's one of our problems." Yuffie said.

"Oh!" Sora came to a realization. "Have you seen the king or Riku?" He asked.

Yuffie shook her head. "Nope," She answered. "Haven't you found them yet?"

"Nu-uh!" Donald and Goofy told her.

The small pillars of light suddenly appeared as a Shadow heartless was creeping up on them.

"What is that?" Sora asked.

"Our town's defense mechanism, Cid calls it Claymore," Yuffie explained. "It keeps the heartless away. We're still a long way from having a peaceful town." The ninja ushered them down an alley. "C'mon I'll show you our secret hideout!"

* * *

The secret hideout wasn't exactly secret. They all used Merlin's house as a refuge. The wise magician offered the citizens who were willing to fight a place to stay and plan to keep the darkness away.

"Where are Ansem's knights?" Leon asked.

"Those do-gooders couldn't make it," Cid said. "You know them, they're always trying to finish as fight instead of planning ahead." He told Leon.

"The king's knights and mages are trying very hard to keep the heartless away." Merlin said.

"Anyway let's get down to business, what do we do about all the heartless crawling around?" Leon asked.

"For now all we can really do is enhance the security around town," Cid said. "I'll take another look at the Claymore's programming." He lightly groaned. "Looks like it's gonna be a another all-nighter."

"Sorry Cid." Leon said noticing how exhausted Cid looked.

"Eh it's my job." Cid replied staring at the computer screen in front of him and then turned to Leon. "You can just make up for it by pulling an all-nighter patrolling the streets."

"Alright…," Leon agreed dismissively. "But we can't fend them off forever. We need to find a way to cut them off at the source."

"We don't have enough firepower to wipe 'em all out at once." Cid said leaning back against the chair.

Leon sighed. "So what are we going to do?"

"We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way and take care of the heartless a few at a time." Aerith said.

Aerith walked over with glasses of iced tea. She was wearing a carmine pink and white top held up by a string that wraps around her neck. Underneath this top was a pink dress with a horizontal white stripe near the bottom. She wears yet another dress underneath the first one, this dress being white and slightly longer than the first along with long knee-high boots.

"Here have some iced tea." Aerith offered kindly.

"But for everyone we get rid of another sward takes its place." Cid said.

"I have an idea!" Merlin finally spoke. The old magician was quiet the entire time. They all suddenly heard Cid spit out his iced tea.

"Aerith, I told you not to put so much sugar in my tea!" Cid coughed.

Merlin continued with his idea. "We could prepare some poisoned bait. The heartless find it and take it back to their nest," He said whimsically. "The other heartless will eat the poison and we get them all in one fell swoop."

"Poisoned bait?" Cid asked flabbergasted.

"Where did you come up with that?" Leon asked.

"Hey Merlin!" Cid yelled. "We're not talking about roaches here! These are heartless!" He groaned in defeat. "If only we had some type of bomb to blow them all away…"

Aerith suddenly saw Yuffie coming back with Sora and the others. "Oh, Yuffie's back!"

Yuffie barged in through the door. "Hey everyone!" She smiled. "Sora and his friends are here!" She ushered them inside. "Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!"

"Hey everyone did you miss us?" Sora asked brightly.

"Heh," Cid grinned. "Perfect timing kid.

"Looks like we found our 'bomb'." Leon said.

* * *

Leon took Sora and the others through the remains of Hollow Bastion.

"So what can we do to help?" Sora asked breaking the awkward silence with Leon.

"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be," Leon explained. "Who knows? Maybe even something better."

"Restore it to what it was?" Levina repeated.

"There's still a lot to do," Leon told them. "I'm sure we can handle everything except that…" He pointed towards a hollow hole in the wall. They saw the old musty make-shift castle where Maleficent and Pete were using as a base.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"That's where Maleficent decided to call her own." Leon answered.

"Maleficent?!" Donald and Goofy gasped.

"I thought we got rid of her for good!" Sora exclaimed.

"You can't get rid of someone like Maleficent," Lira told them. "If there's darkness anywhere, that dark fairy will resurface."

"That's not the problem," Leon said. "It's under that castle."

Everyone's jaw almost dropped as they saw a giant crater on the ground. Inside the ginormous crater were thousands and thousands of Shadow heartless.

"Yikes!" Donald and Goofy jumped back.

"How many of them are there?!" Sora exclaimed.

"I don't know." Leon said.

"Yuck they all look like disgusting bugs all hunched over like that!" Levina shrieked. "I'm getting goose bumps just staring at them."

Leon rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I hate to ask this but," He began slowly. "We were hoping you guys could get rid of them for us."

"Of course!" Sora beamed at the chance to help his friends.

"Just like that?" Leon asked.

"Sora, you're crazy!" Donald quacked.

"There's millions of them!" Goofy panicked.

"There's no way we can defeat all of them!" Levina protested.

"We're going to need a plan first." Lira said.

"Me, Donald and Goofy defeated Ansem!" Sora boasted. "He was the leader of the Heartless!"

"Y-Yeah but…" Donald and Goofy stammered.

"Besides…," Sora made his keyblade appear. "One sweep of this keyblade and they'll all be history!"

"I knew I could count on you, Sora." Leon said.

"Hey you're not the only one with a keyblade, Sora," Levina said to him. "I still don't think it's a good idea to take on that many heartless."

"Don't worry Levina," Sora reassured her. "They're all bunch of boiled seaweed!"

"Easy to say from back here." Donald retorted.

"Where do you get all that boundless optimism?" A voice spoke. "Perhaps it is to be expected from the keyblade's chosen one." Five out of the six remaining members of Organization 13 appeared hovering over the giant cliff where Maleficent's base was. All the members faces were cloaked with their hoods.

"What? Who are they?" Leon asked.

"Organization 13!" Sora glared tightly holding his keyblade.

Saix snapped his fingers and a group of Dusks surrounded everyone.

"But many have lost their lives through overconfidence in their abilities." Xemnas said waving his hand heaving an unconscious Cecil, Rosa, Kain, Palom, Porom, and Ceodore to the ground near Sora and the others. Ceodore's pet chocobo was anxiously by the boy's side pressing its face against the boy's head letting out a sad squawk.

"Ansem the Wise's royal knights!" Leon gritted his teeth squeezing his fist.

Lira saw Kain unconscious on the ground. She edged forward to see if he was alright, but the Dusks weren't allowing her to get any closer. '_Serves you right, you jerk for leaving me and not telling me!' _ She thought with a light glare.

"Why don't you pick on someone who knows they can whip your sorry butts!" Sora taunted arrogantly.

"Our hero grows arrogant," Xemnas said with a grin. "We will have to teach him a little lesson."

Sora immediately swung his Kingdom Key keyblade at the Dusks as they lunged forward instantly destroying them with ease.

"Not bad." Saix noted.

"How's that for ability?!" Sora sneered at them.

Saix simply snapped his fingers making more Dusks appear.

"Wak!" Donald quaked holding up his staff. "There's more!"

Everyone fought off the Dusks to the best of their ability, but it was Sora who was still standing as more Dusks continued to emerge from thin air.

"C'mon kid you can do it!" Demyx egged the boy on.

Sora huffed catching his breath finishing off the last few Dusks on his own. Lira, Donald, Goofy, Leon and Levina were on the ground exhausted from fighting so many Dusks at once.

"So?! Who's next?!" Sora boasted.

Saix was about to summon more Dusks to teach Sora a lesson, but Xigbar stopped him.

"Kid, I feel sorry for the keyblade," Xigbar taunted. "Seeing it being used like that."

Sora glared hatefully at Xigbar. "Huh?!" He tightly held onto the keyblade. The look in his eyes completely resembled Roxas. "Shut up!" He yelled. "Come down here, you're next!"

"Me? As if," Xigbar scoffed coldly. "Let me give you a tip. The keyblade has far more potential than you're capable of drawing out as you are now."

"What?!" Sora yelled at them.

The members of Organization 13 just laughed cruelly. Demyx was suddenly hurled off the cliff by Cid's Claymore system. The pillar of light had heaved the sitar water wielding musician off the cliff.

Saix growled bitterly as the pillar of light hit his hand. "Impudent little…"

"Clear out." Xemnas ordered and the members of Organization 13 disappeared.

"Phew that was a close one," Demyx said climbing back up the cliff. "Hey they left without me!" He pouted realizing that his comrades had abandoned him.

"Yeah you better run!" Sora yelled and jumped back as Xigbar appeared in front of him.

"You'd better get better with that keyblade," Xigbar told the boy. "Or _he'll_ have disappeared for nothing." He said referring to Roxas and disappeared through a dark corridor."

"Wait!" Sora growled in frustration and quickly raced over to his friends. "Hey are you guys ok?"

"I think so…" Donald quacked holding his head.

Cecil slowly started coming around. "What…? Happened…?" He quickly rushed over to Rosa and Ceodore seeing his wife and son unconscious." Rosa! Ceodore!" He called to them urgently.

Rosa groaned lightly looking up smiling seeing her lover's face. "Cecil…" She whispered embracing him.

Ceodore wobbled as he got up. "That was really painful."

"I should have been able to stop them." Kain balled his fists.

"Not even our magic stood a chance against them." Porom frowned.

"We'll just have to get stronger." Palom said.

"Gawrsh are you fellas alright?" Goofy asked curiously walking over to them.

"Yes we are fine…," Cecil replied. "You are King Mickey's friends?"

"That's right!" Donald beamed with pride. "How do you know that?" He asked.

"Our king, Ansem the Wise, is very good friends with your king," Rosa explained. "He spoke of you all the time."

"Hey stop that!" Levina yelled and then laughed as Sky nibbled against her clips.

"Huh?" Ceodore looked over seeing his pet nuzzling against Levina's hair. "Sky, don't do that!" He quickly rushed over pushing his pet chocobo aside. "You never sniff a maiden's hair. That is rude."

Sky gave a playful squawk as Ceodore turned to the girl. He bowed politely and winced holding his shoulder still reeling from the attack by the Organization. "My name is Ceodore."

"I'm Levina," Levina's cheeks turned pink. "Y-You're awfully polite." She blushed as she saw the boy kneel taking her hand gently kissing it. '_W-Wow, no boy has ever done that to me before, not even Ven.' _she thought as Ceodore gently let go of her hand and stood up beside his chocobo.

"You have to treat every maiden with respect." Ceodore told his chocobo stroking its feathers affectionately trying to prove a point to his pet.

"I taught him that." Palom grinned cheekily.

"Oh stop that!" Porom thwacked her twin brother in the back of the head with her hand.

'_Who does that kid think he is?_' Sora thought bitterly as he looked at Ceodore for a brief moment and then blinked confused. '_Huh? Why am I getting so worked up over this?'_ He thought completely unsure of his emotions.

"We should head back to Merlin's and heal up," Leon told everyone and looked at Cecil and the others. "This is Sora. He's the keyblade's chosen one."

Sora sheepishly smiled as he introduced Cecil and the others to his friends, but when he introduced Lira.

"An introduction isn't necessary," Kain replied. "We've met."

Lira said nothing and sneered at the dragoon knight crossing her arms and walking off.

"Gawrsh, I wonder what happened between them?" Goofy wondered.

"What are you talking about Goofy?" Donald asked.

"Well dontcha remember all those letters we got from Lira when she was trainin'?" Goofy asked the confused duck. "She wrote about a guy named, Kain. I think that's him."

Donald looked at Lira and then back at Kain, who was keeping his distance from Lira. "Wak!" He squawked in disbelief. "No, no, no! Absolutely not!" He seethed remembering all the letters Lira had written them during her training in Feymarch with Rydia. She often wrote about how she had feelings for Kain and that they had shared a passionate moment a long time ago. Everyone slowly trudged back to Merlin to figure out how to stop the heartless and Organization 13.

* * *

**Smh... Ceodore, just look at you and then at your parents and then back to you. WHY AREN'T YOU SEXY AS HELL lol. That always bugged me when I played the After Years rofl. Cecil and Rosa are gorgeous parents and then it's like you play as Ceodore and it's like :( Aw I guess he's still reaching puberty. All fangirling aside, the kid is pretty handsome :) **

**Ok, if you guys want to know the drama that happened between Lira and Kain stay tuned for a one-shot that will be posted up soon. It won't be on my page, it will be located on my good friend Kiyamasho fanfic page. She's the one inspiring me to keep this fic fresh and awesome :D**

**Also, tell me if I should have Ceodore and Levina together or should they just stay really good friends. As of right now, I don't whether to have these two characters together, but Sora is gonna be hella jealous for obvious reasons lol. Let the awesome shippyness commence :D **

**Review :) **


	12. Lonely Hearts

**All I have to say about this chapter is that there is a ton of reveals!**

**Enjoy it :D**

* * *

Chapter 12 – Lonely Hearts

Everyone returned to Merlin's House. The old magician and the rest of Hollow Bastion's restoration committee quickly began aiding the injured while Sora and the others gathered around a small table filled with food.

"Owww! Palom complained as his sister healed his injured leg.

"Would you stop complaining and hold still!" Porom scolded.

Ceodore winced in pain as Rosa used her healing magic. "Thank you mother…" He said softly petting Sky. The chocobo returned the affection.

"Man how long's it been since we've been together like this?" Yuffie asked as Aerith poured her a glass of lemonade.

"Too long if you ask me." Cid said as he poured soup into Donald's bowl, he was too busy slurping it down to say anything. "The rest of you better eat up so you can get your strength back."

"Lira, come and eat." Goofy said to their friend. "A-hyuck! It's really good!"

"In a minute Goofy," Lira replied. She was bandaging Kain's wound over his armor. "Does it hurt?"

"No." The dragoon moaned. He then groaned feeling Lira's hand putting pressure where his injury was.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me where you were!" Lira growled. "I thought with your entire knighthood dragoon training, you'd be honorable!"

"I sent you letters every day," Kain confessed wincing in pain. He grabbed the woman's hand from hurting him further. "I assumed you never got them so I stopped writing."

"I never _got_ any letters from you!" Lira seethed.

"What?" Kain looked at the woman confused. "That's absurd."

"What's absurd is you!" Lira fumed. "I'm so glad I met Zack during training, he's a lot better than you are!" Before Kain could reply as to who Zack was something caught Lira's blue eyes. She saw that it was Zack's sword which he had used during Phil's training in Olympus Coliseum. It was hanging on the wall, the blade was slowly rusting, but it was obviously maintained well. "That's Zack's sword!" She rushed over causing everyone else to turn and look at her. The older woman stared at the sword. She could picture Zack holding his faithful weapon, swinging it with pride and then saying something rhetorical and ridiculous. "What happened to him?!" She demanded.

Everyone in the room lowered their heads sadly.

"Well!" Lira glared furiously. "Am I going to get an answer or not?!"

Aerith looked at the older woman. "I'm sorry but…," She tried to find the right words. "But..," She paused. "Zack is dead."

"WHAT?!" Lira yelled outraged.

Donald fell back out of his chair as he heard Lira yell and Goofy helped him up.

"Don't lie to me!" Lira fumed taking her sword out pointing it at Aerith's neck. "Start explaining now!"

Aerith calmly looked at Lira despite having a sword to her neck. "It happened when we tried to win back this world from the Heartless. Zack fought so hard, but in the end the Heartless were too much for him."

"I'll say," Yuffie frowned remember what had happened. "If it wasn't for Zack, Cloud would've been a goner for sure."

'_But Cloud hasn't come back yet_,' Aerith thought sighing sadly. '_He hasn't been the same since Zack died. I hope Tifa can find him_.'

"Zack died as a true hero." Leon said.

Lira's faced turned from anger to a confused mess. She had no idea what to say or feel.

Kain slowly stood up. "Lira…" He said softly reaching to her.

"Leave me alone…!" Lira barked and left the small house.

"Lira!" Donald quacked.

"Come back!" Goofy yelled. The two got up and raced after her.

Kain lowered his head in disappointment.

"Go to her, Kain." Cecil told his friend.

"She wants nothing to do with me." Kain said.

"But it is obvious that you care for her." Rosa told him.

The dragoon looked at his two friends. It was hard enough for him to let Cecil be with Rosa. He had his own personal demons to thank for almost getting his best friend and the woman he had claimed to love killed. He wouldn't allow another person he cared for to slip away.

Sora picked at his food while this was going on. '_I wonder what that guy mean?'_ He thought remembering what Xigbar had told him. '_What did he mean when he said he'll disappear…?'_

"Sora, you haven't touched your food." Levina said to him.

"I've got it!" Sora screamed banging his fist on the table. "That Organization member probably meant Riku!"

Everyone turned to Sora's direction.

"Riku was the first person to tell me I wasn't using the keyblade right…," Sora began. "and he's the only 'he' I know."

"So that's what you were thinking about all this time," Levina said to him. "You've been so quiet." She then noticed that Merlin was looking at her. He was looking at her the entire time they all sat down to eat.

"Forgive me my dear," The wizard apologized. "But you look a great deal like…Liora."

"That was my mother's name!" Levina said proudly. "I know this was my mother's hometown and where she grew up."

"Ah yes," Merlin said with a smile. "Liora was such a fine gifted mage. She trained with me before leaving to train with Yen Sid and became one of our king's most powerful mages!"

Lira smiled as she heard Merlin regale her with stories of her mother.

"But unfortunately, Liora left this world and never came back. It had something to do with a young man she had fallen in love with. He was from the outside world." The wizard idly scratched his beard. "Now what was that name again?"

Levina leaned back in her chair sipping on her iced tea. She had a coy smile on her face.

"Now I remember!" Merlin said. "His name was Xehanort."

Levina coughed almost choking on her iced tea. "X-Xehanort?!" She asked confused. "But she was in love with my Dad!" She shrieked.

The wizard got up from his chair walking over to a stack of books. "It's all right here," He handed the girl a small purple diary. "Something dreadful must've happened between Liora and Xehanort," The wizard sighed. "I could never get that book to open."

Levina looked at the small dusty book which had her mother's handwriting on it with a small keyhole lock.

* * *

Donald and Goofy were by Lira's side. They were standing where the original town square was when Hollow Bastion was Radiant Garden, except now it was nearly filled with fallen warriors who tried to help in the fight against the darkness.

Donald opened his beak to speak but Goofy gently shook his head.

Lira stood in front of Zack's grave. "I didn't want to believe it…!" She quivered sinking to her knees as she touched the cold tomb with her fingers. She traced the words on the tombstone which read: "Here lies Zack – A true hero"

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Kain said to her as he approached her.

Lira wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I thought I told you to leave me alone…!" She trembled as Kain's arms wrapped around her. "Tell me…" She whispered.

"Tell you what?" Kain asked.

"Tell me how Zack died…" Lira replied.

"If that is what you want." Kain said. "It happened after this world became known as Hollow Bastion…Cecil and myself were trying to infiltrate the castle which was being a refuge for the Heartless."

* * *

"_We have to get out the Heartless away from here!" Cecil growled in frustration. "I can't believe our home has become like this." He looked for Kain as he swung his sword at Neo Shadows that spawned down the castle halls. _

"_Kain, where are you?!" Cecil yelled. _

_A spear cut through the Neo Shadow in front of Cecil. "Making sure Rosa, and your new born son are safe." _

"_The others?" Cecil asked. _

"_In town aiding to the townspeople." Kain replied readying his spear as more Neo Shadows spawned around them. _

_Cecil tightly gripped his sword. "We might not make it out alive…" _

"_You have to Cecil," Kain said to him. "For Rosa and Ceodore." _

_Cecil nodded with the thought in mind. He would live for his wife and child. They would make it out of here alive as well as the rest of the people fighting. _

* * *

"_Leon!" Yuffie screamed for the gunblade wielding teen. "Hey where are you?!" _

"_Over here, Yuffie!" Leon's voice called. The ninja quickly ran over seeing a group of injured civilians. _

"_This is horrible…!" Yuffie growled. "These stupid Heartless just keep on coming! I sure wish Sora were here…!" _

"_No kidding…" Leon said. 'We need you Sora…' He thought grimly. _

"_We're doing the best we can to aid the injured." Aerith said casting cura on the injured people. _

"_It won't be enough though." Tifa said balling her fists as a group of Invisible heartless emerged. She then had a horrified look on her face as she saw Zack bringing Cloud over. The young guardsman in training was holding a painful wound on his abdomen._

"_Cloud!" Tifa screamed rushing over. "What happened?!" _

"_We got ambushed by those Invisible Heartless!" Zack said handing Cloud over to Tifa. _

"_Cloud?!" Tifa yelled. "Answer me!" Despite his wound, something else was also wrong. He looked a lot paler than normal and his eyes were heavily dilated. _

_Cloud just moaned in pain and coughed up oozing darkness from his mouth as he tried to speak._

"_You better take care of him," Zack told her. "He's got a severe case of poisoning from the darkness." He swung his sword at a bunch of Dark Balls that had surrounded them. _

"_We can't keep fighting like this!" Yuffie panicked. _

"_Everyone inside now!" Leon ordered as all the different breed of pure Heartless retaliated and regrouped in the towns square. _

"_You guys go!" Zack told them holding his sword tightly. "I'll hold them off!" _

"_Zack, are you crazy!" Aerith yelled. "You can't take them all on by yourself!" _

"_Just go!" Zack yelled tightly holding his sword. He watched as Neo Shadows, Invisibles, Dark Balls, and Shadow Heartless covered the entire town square. He knew he wasn't going to make it out alive. "I never knew the price of freedom was this steep," He said raising his sword. "Embrace your dreams and don't forget to protect your honor as a hero…!" He charged at the Heartless swinging his sword furiously. _

_Eventually the Heartless over powered the young hero. The horrible creatures from the darkness wouldn't stop until they knew Zack was dead. _

_Zack stared up at the black sky. There were no stars out. The darkness had taken this world for its own. His body was beaten and battered. His uniform now had blood covering it from every direction. _

_Cecil and Kain rushed over to the unmoving body. _

"_Those cursed Heartless killed him!" Cecil yelled. "I swore to our king I wouldn't let another comrade die!" _

_Kain frowned as Cecil kneeled to see if there was a way to revive him. _

"_What will I tell Lira…?" Kain thought out loud. _

_The fallen hero looked up at them at the mention of Lira's name. 'Lira….' Zack thought weakly. 'I'm sorry I won't get to see you…' He felt a few rain drops fall on his face. 'The Keyblade's Chosen one better be worth all this…' He knew he only had a few moments left to live. 'Guess I won't get to meet him…' His mouth curved into a smile. "Take care Lira…" He gasped taking his last breath. _

"_There is nothing more we can do for him." Kain told his friend. _

"_Yes there is," Cecil said. "We honor his memory." _

* * *

"His last words were of you." Kain said to Lira.

"Zack…!" Lira sobbed against Kain's embraced.

Donald and Goofy took their hats off and bowed their heads.

"Do not linger on his death, Lira." Kain said to her quietly. "You have to strong for him. His sacrifice won't be wasted I will promise you that."

Donald suddenly looked up seeing Carl flying nearby. The unfriendly moogle had a bunch of letters in a small sack. They all had Mickey's insignia on them.

"Hey!" The duck squawked. "Hold it!"

Carl turned and ran for dear life.

"C'mon Goofy! Don't let him get away!" Donald raced off.

"Wait for me Donald!" Goofy followed.

"Donald…? Goofy…?" Lira watched as her friends tackled the moogle.

"Ok, ok, kupo!" Carl screamed. "I give, I give, kupo!"

"Carl what are you doing with all these…" Lira paused as she looked at the letters closely. They were all addressed to her. "You little thief!"

Kain lifted the small moogle from his red pom pom ball.

"Give me one good reason why I should not end your foul existence!" Kain seethed raising his spear at the tiny creature.

"I was just trying to find Lira, kupo!" Carl whined.

"Trying to find me?" Lira glared. "Why?!"

"To find the right materials for you, kupo!" Carl said to her. "To create your ultimate weapon, kupo!" Moogles were brilliant when it came to synthesizing weapons and armor.

"Ultimate weapon?" Lira asked as the moogle nodded terrified.

"I promise not to cause any more trouble, kupo!" Carl said as Kain dropped him.

"You better!" Lira threatened. "Or I'll kill you myself!"

The tiny moogle nodded and ran off to one of the small shops that he owned.

Lira picked up the letters from the ground. "Looks like you weren't lying after all." She looked at Kain.

"It's understandable that you would not believe me." Kain said to her. "Perhaps it is best if we were to go our own separate ways."

"What are you talking about!?" Donald raged. "Lira's incredible! You should be with her!"

"Gawrsh Donald, they probably have while Lira was trainin'" Goofy said with a bright smile causing Donald to squawk in disbelief.

* * *

Nightfall soon arrived in Hollow Bastion. As he promised Cid, Leon was making his rounds around the small town looking for any heartless. Everyone else was asleep, except for Levina.

She sat near a small fire and fiddled with her mom's diary trying to get the lock open. '_What Merlin said can't be true…'_ She thought. '_Mom wouldn't be…in love…with Xehanort…'_ She frowned a little. "Ugh why won't this thing open!?" She threw the book aside in frustration which hit the wall. The latch slowly unbuckled by force of impact.

Levina picked up the now opened diary. She smiled seeing a small yellow star shaped fruit necklace in between one of the pages.

"That's a papou betrothal necklace!" Sora said smiling lightly.

"Oh sorry Sora, I didn't mean to wake you," Levina looked at the necklace. "Betrothal necklace?"

"Yeah," Sora answered. "My mom has one. She wears it around her neck every day." He suddenly became nervous at the mention of his mother. _'I hope mom's not worried too much about me_,' He thought.

Levina smiled at it and then looked at the pages of her mother's diary and began to unravel the mystery of her mother's past as Sora sat beside her.

"Training with Master Merlin has been such a big help." The diary read "…I thought today would be an ordinary day, but then two men fell from the sky. They were about my age, they weren't from this world at all, that I could tell right away. They had such unusual names. Xehanort and Eraqus. The two of them were inseparable friends. They were training to become something called Keyblade Masters. They were always competing and showing off to me. I found it completely silly, but I also didn't expect to fall in love with one of them."

* * *

_A much younger Xehanort and Eraqus approached the front door to Merlin's home. _

"_So when are you going to ask Liora to marry you?" Eraqus asked the silver haired man in front of him. _

_Xehanort looked at Eraqus. "Why are you so anxious about this?" He asked. "I'm the one asking not you." _

"_I just want to see you happy, that's all," Eraqus replied with a smile. "Besides you have to pick a best man and I know that's going to be me." _

"_Oh?" Xehanort questioned in a serious tone. "Do you really think I'll pick you?" _

_Eraqus blinked in confusion by the seriousness in Xehanort's voice. "Uh…" _

_Xehanort's lips curved into a thin smile. "You'll be first on my list, Eraqus," He stared at the wooden door tightly holding a medium box in his hand. "I just hope she says yes." _

_For a moment Eraqus swore he could see darkness tingling within his friend's fingers. "So go and ask already." _

_Xehanort knocked on the door. He smiled seeing the woman who he had fallen for. Her wavy brown hair touching the frames of her thin face and her brown eyes lightly sparkled. He admired her figure in her sage training outfit. _

"_Xehanort…?" Liora gasped. "You've returned from your training already?" _

_Eraqus idly waved to her to acknowledge that he was also there. _

"_What brings you two here?" Liora asked curiously. She smiled as Xehanort outstretched his hand to her. _

"_Come with me." Xehanort said to her. It was almost like an order. _

_Liora gently smiled taking his hand. The two walked towards the fountain court. _

"_Ansem the Wise has given me privlage to become his royal sage!" Liora told him. _

"_Ansem the Wise?" Xehanort repeated frowning. "That old fool…, you're too good to be his sage, Liora."_

"_But this is an incredible opportunity….!" Liora said and then saw the box in his hand. "What is that?" _

_Xehanort opened the box taking out a papou necklace. "Where I come from this necklace is a mutual promise to marry," He looked at the woman in front of him. _

_Liora gaped at the necklace. "X-Xehanort are you…? Asking me to marry you?" _

"_Yes." Xehanort said to her. _

"_Yes!" Liora said not being able to contain her joy. "I will marry you!" She flung her arms around the silver haired man hugging him. _

_Xehanort held her tightly clasping the necklace around her neck. "It suits you perfectly," He whispered in her ear before kissing her. "With our powers together no one shall stop us! We shall discover Kingdom Hearts and plunge all worlds into darkness!" _

_Hearing this Liora became disheartened. "What are you talking about!?" She pulled away from the man. "I don't want to ruin the worlds!" She then stepped back seeing darkness surround his body. "You've been using the darkness all this time?!" _

_Xehanort frowned at this. "The darkness is nothing to fear," He told her. "It is absolute power! I wanted you to be a part of it."_

_Realizing that she was being used all this time, Liora angrily shook her head. "You've just been using me this entire time!" She screamed casting a spell on the man whom she thought who loved her. _

_Xehanort easily heaved the spell away with his keyblade. _

_Liora glared at him as he gripped her shoulders tangling his fingers in her hair. "You are mine forever." _

"_Xehanort, what are you doing?!" Eraqus rushed over. "Is that darkness?" _

"_Stay out of this!" Xehanort sneered at his friend. _

"_No!" Eraqus declared making his keyblade appear in his hand. "You've been tainted by the darkness!" _

_Xehanort released his grip on Liora and faced his friend. "Fool, do you think you can stand up to me?" _

_Eraqus gripped his keyblade tightly in his hand. "I've been training just as hard as you!" The two friends clashed with each other. In the end it was Eraqus who was victorious. _

_Eraqus looked down at his friend. "Sorry…" He apologized holding his hand out hoping to salvage some of their friendship. _

_Xehanort glared getting up by himself. "One day I'll show all of you what the darkness can do!" He roared walking off. _

"_I should've saw this from the beginning," Eraqus thought out loud. "Master Yen Sid warned me that he was getting too close to the darkness." He then stopped speaking as he heard Liora cry. He rushed over to her. "Did he hurt you?" He asked concerned embracing her close. _

_The young man held Liora as she cried. _

* * *

"…In time, I began to see Eraqus as the one I would spend the rest of my days with," The last entry of the diary read. "We never saw Xehanort after what happened. No matter how many times I tried to reach him, he would not reply. Soon after Eraqus had become a Keyblade Master, we were married and departed from Radiant Garden to start a new life together."

"Wow…." Sora said quietly.

Levina brushed the tears from eyes with her fingers. "I can't believe he hurt her like that!"

"Hey…" Sora frowned gently hugging her. "Don't cry." He told her. "We'll set things right." He told her. "We'll find Riku and the King! Then fix this mess!" He said defiantly.

Levina smiled at Sora. For some reason she believed him. "Thanks Sora."

* * *

In the Round Room of the Castle That Never Was, Organization 13 was having a meeting about their encounter with Sora when they had arrived at Hollow Bastion.

"He acts too brashly," Saix said. "His movements are inefficient. Add to his cocksure attitude."

"Add the fact that he's a hero of light," Demyx frowned. "It makes me shudder."

"It'll be more like ten years until that whelp is ready to use the keyblade properly." Saix said.

"We could easily lure him along," Xigbar spoke. "He'll run in a straight line for us, whichever direction we point. Like a beam of light."

"And if he doesn't?" Xaldin questioned.

"We've already lost Roxas," Saix replied. "We need the boy to our work for us."

"But isn't Roxas gone?" Demyx asked. "I sure miss the kid."

"Roxas is not gone," Saix answered. "He is inside Sora."

"Really?!" Demyx replied happily. "I'm so happy!"

"Stop acting like you have emotions," Luxord spat at him. "You're a Nobody remember!"

"The key bearer has begun his journey anew," Xemnas spoke silencing everyone in the room. "You will sow seeds along his path and we will water them leading him to the right path."

"There's just one more thing," Saix said. "Where is Axel? He hasn't reported in yet."

"Forget him," Xemnas replied. "He won't be coming back here."

Saix remained silent as he heard this from their leader.

"If he dares to show his face here again," Xemnas said. "Mercy will not fall upon him."

* * *

Axel rummaged through the old mansion in Twilight Town. "There's gotta be something to wear around here." He groaned dropping a rain coat that he had discovered. He heard rustling from a nearby closet that 'cleaning supplies.' The red head opened the door and saw Naminé.

"How long have you been in there?" Axel asked her.

"A while..," Naminé replied getting up. "I was hiding from DiZ." She told him as they left the mansion. "Thank you." She thanked the red head. "You've saved my life twice already," She remembered how Axel had helped her in Castle Oblivion to escape from Marluxia.

"Don't you know how to open corridors of darkness?" Axel asked her and demonstrated by opening a rift of darkness.

Naminé tried to mimic what Axel did, but wasn't able to. "I…," She began quietly as a crackle of darkness fizzed through her fingers. "Can do it sometimes…"

"Just keep trying, you'll get the hang of it." Axel reassured her.

"What were you doing in the mansion?" Naminé asked curiously.

"I was…," Axel looked at his ripped coat. "Was looking for some new clothes."

"I can fix it!" The blonde haired girl beamed revealing a sewing kit in her hands. She must have found it in the closet.

"No you don't have to…" Axel fell over as Naminé pushed him to sit and began attempting to fix his ripped coat.

"This is my way of repaying you for saving me." Naminé told him with a smile.

Axel frowned at the horrible stitching. "I-It's fine really…" He told her and then asked," Hey what are you going to do now? I doubt DiZ wants you around anymore."

Naminé frowned as Axel said this.

"And I can't go back to the Organization either." Axel groaned. "They'll kill me."

"Well…," Naminé began. "It's not like we belonged anywhere in the first place," She said. "We never were supposed to exist…." She paused a little. "But…there is someplace I want to go," She confessed to the red head. "Someone I want to see…"

They both thought of Roxas.

"Me too…," Axel thought thinking of his friend and Lira. "It's weird though. Nobodies like us don't have hearts. So where do all these feelings come from?" He wondered. "These feelings of wanting to see someone we both care about."

* * *

**I told you all the reveals! **

**So now you know what happened to Zack and had more back story on Levina's mommy **

** I felt like to me Eraqus and Xehanort's friendship would def be like Sora and Riku :D**

**Review :D **


	13. Special Chapter Kain and Lira

**Since no one's really reading the one-shot that Kiyamasho wrote, I decided to put the chapter into the fic. There will be a bunch of these as the main plot of the fic happens. **

**Warning this chapter is very mature. Not mature enough to M rate this fic, but its kind of border line mature. Have fun reading :D **

* * *

Chapter 13 - Kain and Lira

It was nearing midnight but Lira was still outside training. It had been nearly ten years since she had come to this land as a young girl and she was nearing the end of her training. Soon she'd be a full-fledged summoner and warrior like Rydia, her mentor. A few days before the older woman had given Lira the summon spell for her favorite summon, Leviathan. So now, under the cover the darkness, Lira stood waist deep in the river that lay to the east of the castle. With his signature move Tidal Wave, it would be easier to practice here.

Feeling slightly nervous, Lira cleared her throat and positioned her arms in the way she had seen Rydia do a thousand times. Closing her eyes, Lira concentrated all of her magic on the summoning spell. For several long moments it seemed like it had failed. But then, quite suddenly, Lira felt the familiar drain of magic as the Summon came forth. Opening her eyes she watched in awe as the sea serpent coiled its way through river before stopping in front of her.

Smiling, Lira reached up and touched the massive snake's scales. "Well aren't you beautiful? I can only hope that my first summon is anywhere close to wonderful like you." The summon preened at her attention. Lira giggled slightly before turning her thoughts back to why she was out here in the first place. For the next thirty minutes she practiced fighting with the large summon. It was hard work; her magical capabilities were nowhere near high enough to keep the summon in the open for longer than five minutes.

After drinking five ethers, Lira decided to call it a night. She released the summon and yawned. She was going to head to sleep. She turned around and froze. Standing on the edge of the bank, in his signature black armor was Commander Kain of the Dragoons. Lira had seen the older man many times around the palace but she had never had a chance to speak with him. He was something of a legend and the young woman had never thought herself worthy of attention from someone like him.

Now she felt embarrassed. Because it was late Lira had not dressed in her normal training uniform of a tunic and leggings. Instead she wore a pale robe that was now plastered to her body from the water in the river. Her hair, which was usually in a ponytail, was down, and probably looked like something out of a nightmare. Feeling her face turn red, Lira said weakly, "C-Commander Kain. I didn't expect anyone to be here. I hope my training hasn't interrupted anything important."

To her relief the Commander shook his head, his armor making a soft clinking noise. "No," he replied, his voice reminding Lira of the steaming cups of chocolate the cooks sometimes served. "I was merely admiring how far you've come along in your training. Your skills have improved greatly."

A heady sensation filled Lira at the thought of the handsome Commander noticing her. Overcome by emotion she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I imagine that I could take you on in a fight." Almost immediately her face turned white.

There was a long moment of silence and Lira could almost imagine the severe frown on his face through the mask on his helmet. To her surprise the Commander chuckled and asked, "Shall we test that theory?"

"I…yes. Of course." Lira clambered out of the river and turned red as she hurried past him. When she was some distance away she grabbed a section of her robe and wrung some water from it. She had brought a change of clothes with her but there was no way she was changing in front of him.

Commander Kain removed his sword from his sheath and asked, "Have you a weapon on you?"

Lira fumbled slightly as she went over to where her things sat underneath a tree and she picked up her own sword. "Yes, right here."

"Very well. The first to knock the other down wins." The words had barely floated out from the Commander's mask before he struck.

The next minutes passed by in a blur. Lira had never fought someone so well trained and the experience was equal parts nerve wracking and thrilling. At first her movements her stiff but soon she was moving fluidly and avoiding or deflecting blows. This went on for some time before an ill placed rock sent Lira tumbling to the ground. Her sword went flying and she blinked up in surprise at the Commander's imposing figure.

Lira breathed in deeply, and felt annoyed that she had lost on a technicality. When the Commander reached out his hand, Lira took it firmly in hers and pulled him down. With a swift move she had him on his back and her knife, which she kept strapped to her leg, pressed to his now exposed throat as she straddled him around the waist. Her lips turned upwards into a smile. "Do you yield?"

The Commander's hand reached up and grasped her wrist, pushing the knife away from his throat. "This was an unfair move; you were already down."

"I beg to differ Commander; you did not knock me down. A rock did." With this Lira placed her hand on his shoulder to push herself up. To her shock, the Commander had other plans.

Commander Kain put his arm around her waist and held her firmly as he sat up. Lira could feel herself turning red at the intimate position they were in. Because she had been straddling him, as he lay, Lira was now kneeling with her legs on either side of his; the soft skin of the back of her legs feeling the cool metal on his. To her embarrassment, her robe which was still damp, had ridden up to expose her thighs. Feeling stunned, Lira dropped the knife and grabbed the Commander by his shoulders to balance herself . "C-commander?" The young woman's voice was soft and hesitant. Lira was sure her heart would come pounding out of her chest. Her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly dry lips.

Lira's eyes widened as the older man reached up and pushed his helmet off. Blue eyes met hers and when he spoke, unhindered by the mask, Lira couldn't help but shiver. "It's not often that someone defeats me a fight. Practice or otherwise."

The words went over Lira's head. She was too busy admiring the Commander's good looks. The older man almost always work the helmet so it was almost easy to forget that underneath were beautiful blue eyes, a strong jaw, lips that looked made for sinful things, and blonde hair that would flow over his shoulders if it were loose. It was hard to remember that at thirty eight, Kain Highwind was sixteen years her senior. Despite the age difference, Lira had always felt a strong amount of feelings for the man. He was the perfect combination of man and warrior, something that the younger men she knew were not.

Lira's eyes fell to his lips. When would she ever have a chance like this again? Without responding to his statement, Lira raised herself up slightly leaned forward. She brushed her mouth against Commander Kain's. His lips were parted slightly and Lira could feel the gasp of surprise against her own. Their eyes met and a warm feeling flooded through Lira. Without allowing him a chance to speak, Lira closed her eyes and touched her lips once more to the Commander's, this time more firmly. Her left hand trailed up along his neck to touch his face as she drew his bottom lip into her mouth and gave it a nibble.

It was Lira's turn to gasp when Commander Kain let out deep groan and clasped his hand to the back of her head. He pushed her down to the ground as his mouth moved over hers, his other hand moving to her leg. As Lira wrapped her arms around the Commander's neck she was vaguely aware of him pulling her leg up to fit himself more firmly against her and as the metal of his armor touched the inside of her thighs, all thought and reason left her mind.

Lira grabbed at the fastenings of his armor desperate to feel the Commander's skin against her own. She moaned in frustration as her fingers slid uselessly against the metal. Commander Kain, who had been sucking at the soft skin of her neck, lifted his head and chuckled, "Patience little one, there is plenty of time for what we wish to do."

"Perhaps, but if you do not remove at least part of the armor, I will be forced to use my magic and I cannot promise the armor will live through it."

Long, torturous, minutes later the armor had been removed and Lira sighed with relief as she ran her hands along the firm planes of the Commander's Body. His skin was hot under her touch and Lira brought her hands back up to frame her soon to be lover's face. She drew his face back down and kissed him deeply as she wrapped her legs around his hips; connecting her softness with his hardness.

Commander Kain's hand closed over Lira's breast and as the young woman groaned against his mouth he murmured, "It seems as though you are now the one with too much on."

In response Lira placed her hands on the Commander's chest and pushed him back onto the ground. Once more he found himself being straddled by her only this time instead of holding a knife to his throat; Lira grabbed the edges of her robe and, in one fluid motion, pulled them over her head. Kain's throat went dry at the sight of the of the woman on top of him.

Lira's lips curled upwards and she asked, rather shyly, "Is this more to your liking Commander?"

"More than you know," was Kain's husky reply as he drew her back down to his mouth.

* * *

The next week passed by in bliss for Lira. She spent her days studying and training while her nights were spent in the Commander's arms. After their passionate first night together the two of them had decided to continue their relationship in secret; at least until Lira had finished with her exams in a few weeks time and become a full fledged Summoner. Unfortunately for the new couple, someone had realized their new relationship statues. The moogle named Carl.

A few years earlier Lira had come across the Moogle being attacked by several goblins. The young woman had quickly put an end to their mischief and Carl had found himself smitten. He decided from that moment forward to devote his life to the girl and do everything in his power to make her happy. Unfortunately for Lira, this devotion quickly become an obsession. The moment someone showed the slightest interested in the young woman Carl would swoop in and get rid of them. Dozens of roses and small gifts were destroyed before coming into contact with Lira and unknown to her, she became known as something of an ice queen.

The night of Lira and Kain's passionate encounter, Carl had been searching for his friend and had caught them in the act. His fury knew no bounds. Lira was _his_ friend and there was no way he would let some old man take his place in her life! So for the next week, as Kain and Lira remained blissfully aware of nothing but each other, Carl watched and waited for the opportune moment to strike. To the moogle's delight, his opportunity came sooner rather than later.

One night, as he sat hidden in Kain's closet, the moogle heard someone knocking on the  
Commander's door. Lira lay sprawled across the sheets naked and asleep. Kain awoke with a start and called out in a low, sleep roughed voice, "A moment." Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Kain slipped out of the bed and carefully arranged the sheets over Lira's body so that not even her face showed. Quickly he moved to the door and to his surprise he discovered his best friend, a Paladin of Light, outside the door.

Without waiting for an invitation Cecil walked into the room and said, "Kain, it is worse than we thought. The agents of darkness have devoured yet another world."

"That is grave news indeed," Kain responded. "Will our forces be moving out?"

Cecil dipped his head in a nod. "Yes. We leave in under two hours to offer support to a nearby kingdom."

Before Kain could respond there was a soft moan from the bed and the blankets shifted revealing the naked Lira as she rolled over in her sleep. The expression on Cecil's face was priceless as he stuttered a goodbye and fled from the room. If the situation hadn't been so serious Kain would have laughed. Instead he sighed deeply and strode to his closet. He pulled to doors open and quickly removed clothing and pieces of armor, not noticing the moogle glaring at him in the corner. Within ten minutes he was dressed and ready to go.

Kain walked to the door but stopped to look back at Lira. After only the slightest hesitation he strode over to the desk that stood in a corner and pulled out some loose sheets of paper and a quill. For the next ten minutes the quill scratched at the paper. When Kain finished, he folded the paper and placed on the pillow beside Lira's head. He brushed soft strands of hair from her face and leaned over to place a kiss against her forehead. "I shall see you soon little one." With that he strode from the room.

After waiting a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear, Carl jumped out of the closet and ran over to the bed. He snatched the letter from the pillow and took off out of the room. Once he was safe in Lira's room, the moogle muttered, "What'd this loser write her?"

He opened and read: _Dear one, The King has called our forces to battle. I know not how long I shall be gone but know that I leave you with a heavy heart. The memory of our time together will be with me on these long nights without you. I pray that I return to your side quickly so that we may continue with this new thing we have discovered. Wait for me Lira; I swear to be faithful to you…._

The letter went on for another paragraph much to Carl's disgust and it ended simply with the Commander's name. Carl balled the paper up and shook his head, "Not in your lifetime buddy! Lira's mine, she doesn't have time for dark knights!" With no hesitation he used his magic to call up fire and he burned the letter. Once it was nothing but ashes, he swept them up and then disappeared into his room to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Lira woke up with a yawn. She sat up and stretched, the sheets falling around her waist. "Kain?" her voice was sleepy as she looked around the chamber to find her lover. When she did not see him, Lira was not worried. Kain was the Commander of the Dragoons; he was a busy man and couldn't spend his mornings lazing about in bed. Lira slid out of the bed, gathered her clothes, and went back to her chambers to ready herself for the day.

It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Lira began to worry. Although they ran in different circles, it was not uncommon for Lira to catch sight of Kain walking through the palace on his way to some important meeting. The worry intensified when he made no appearance that night or the next day. Around super time, Lira could take it no longer and she finally asked her mentor if she had seen Commander Kain.

If Rydia was surprised by the question she did not show it. She replied easily, "Kain and Cecil were called away to fight. Those creatures of darkness are become fierce." Rydia paused to munch on a roll thoughtfully, "They will probably be gone for several months."

A stricken expression came over Lira's face. Several months? Suddenly feeling nauseous she said weakly, "W…won't, ah, Lady Rosa feel bad from not hearing from Lord Cecil for so long?"

"Cecil always writes her," Rydia explained as she continued eating her breakfast. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Lira. "Why are you asking all these questions? Do you have a crush on him?"

Lira's face turned bright red and she exclaimed, "Of course not! He's married!" she stood up and left the room in a rush. Once she was free from her mentor's stare, Lira let out a deep breath and rubbed her arm. If Lord Cecil took the time to write to Lady Rosa then surely Kain would write her. A soft smile touched Lira's lips. She would look forward to exchanging letters with the Commander.

* * *

Tears dripped down Lira's face as she sat in her room. It had been three months since Kain had left with the troops and she had yet to hear one word from him. Lady Rosa had received several letters during that time and the younger girl's heart broke each time the butler arrived with letters from the troops and there were none for her. Lira had even tried writing him several times but there was never a response. As she cried, Lira had no idea that nearby Carl watched her through a hole in the wall.

The moogle had been very busy the past few weeks stealing all the letters Kain sent Lira and burning them. Carl had even taken the ones Lira had written. It was rough seeing his friend cry but sometimes you had to do things you didn't like to accomplish your goals. After a few more minutes of watching Carl turned and left, satisfied that his plan had worked.

A little while later Lira stood up and moved to her vanity. She touched her tear streaked face with a trembling hand. In less than an hour she had Summoner's exam; it wouldn't do for her to go looking like she had been dragged around the ground. Her eyes went to her hair that lay in tangles around her face and shoulders. Kain had loved to run his fingers through her hair. Lira's eyes landed on a pair of scissors that lay on the vanity. Her lips tightened into a thin line. She was done with waiting. She was done with Kain. Never again would she allow herself be ruled by a man; from now on things would be on _her terms_. Lira snatched the scissors up into her hand and attacked her hair.

It was time for a new beginning.

* * *

**So now you know the truth between Kain and Lira. I'll have a new chapter up soon! **

**Review :) **


	14. The Enchanted Prince

**Hey guys sorry for the long wait. I've been busy with work and life. I've also started preparing for Nanowrimo in November. If you don't know what that is, it's an entire month dedicated to writing a full fledged novel in 30 days. If you complete the word count of 100,000 and the judges like your book, it can be get published :D So I'm excited for that. **

**Also I wasn't really in the mood to write or work on this fic for the passed few days. To all my reviewers, who have been genuinely enjoying this my KH fics I'm really grateful for that. I love Kingdom Hearts and its mythology. Writing these passed few stories have been really fun for me and it's something I enjoy. **

**But when someone gives you false praise on your stories and tells you that they don't enjoy your stories privately telling me that my stories were boring made me feel like I shouldn't be writing these stories at all. I know, I know it's just one person, but seriously I was feeling really horrible. **

**Don't worry I won't stop writing this fic though. **

**Anyway enough rambling enjoy the chapter. **

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Chapter 14 – The Enchanted Prince

That night everyone slept peacefully in Merlin's home. Donald had his feet on top of Goofy resting his head on the arm rest, while Goofy was using Lira as a pillow. The older woman didn't seem to mind at all. Sora was sprawled on the floor snoozing away with a peaceful smile on his face. Levina was next to him gently tossing in her sleep. She heard a voice inside her head, a voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

"_I'll come back,"_ Ven's voice said to her. _"It's a promise." _

"V-Ven…" Levina mumbled his name in her sleep.

"_I'll always be close by if you need me."_ Ven said to her.

"Ven!" The girl sat up. "Don't…," She paused looking around, but her friend wasn't there. "Go…" She sighed looking at her yellow wayfinder. '_It was just a dream_.' She thought. '_But it felt so real…'_ She held her trinket tightly in the palm of her hand. Carefully she got up and quietly left Merlin's home trying not to bother anyone as they slept.

"I wonder if I'll ever see him again." Levina thought out loud looking up at the dark sky. There were only a few stars out. Only a few worlds were left that the darkness hadn't taken yet.

Levina suddenly felt a nudge on her back. The girl turned around thinking it was a Heartless, but it was just Ceodore's pet chocobo. The girl smiled lightly. "You need to stop sneaking up on me." She said patting the giant bird's head.

Sky let out a playful chirp nuzzling his beak against her cheek.

Ceodore walked over. "Sky, what did I tell you?" The boy looked at his pet sternly.

Sky looked at Ceodore bowing his head while lowering his wings to his side as if he did something wrong.

"No, it's alright he wasn't bothering me." Levina said stroking the saddened chocobo's feathers. "He's adorable and friendly."

Ceodore smiled edging closer to the girl. "He's been in my family since I was little," He then looked at her. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I couldn't sleep…" Levina replied dismissively looking up at the sky.

"Are you alright?" Ceodore asked.

Levina shook her head. "I was just thinking about a friend…" She paused looking at her wayfinder.

"A friend?" Ceodore questioned gently touching her hand.

Levina looked at him. "Ok more than just a friend…," She confessed. "He was someone I was really close to. I miss him…"

Ceodore frowned as he saw tears in the girl's eyes. "No don't cry…."

"But I miss him so much…," Levina sighed lowering her head trying not to cry. "I know everyone is saying things will get better, but it won't be if I can't see Ven again."

"If this person is someone special to you," He paused for a moment. '_She's such a nice girl, I wouldn't want her to be in such pain.'_ He thought. '_This Ven must be really important to her…I wouldn't want to ruin it_.' He suppressed his urges very well and continued on, "He is worth waiting for, then you should wait," Ceodore told her. "Even if it seems like a long time, I'm sure your hearts are closer."

Levina looked up at the boy wiping the tears from her eyes. She smiled gently. "You're right…," She said. "I shouldn't worry about Ven too much when I have all my friends with me."

Ceodore offered his hand to her. "We should get some sleep," He told her. "My mother will lecture me again if I'm not asleep."

Levina smiled taking the boy's hand. The small squire linked her fingers in between hers pulling her hand up to his lips.

The girl's cheeks flushed as Ceodore kissed her hand and led her inside.

"Thank you, Ceodore." Levina said.

* * *

The following morning Sora, Donald, Goofy, Lira and Levina headed out of Merlin's home. Whatever Organization 13 was planning, they had to be stopped. So the keyblade's chosen and guardians of the light would have to travel to other worlds to protect the light from each world.

"Come on Sora hurry it up!" Donald urged the key bearer.

"Gawrsh Sora, what's the matter?" Goofy asked concerned.

"Didn't you get any sleep last night?" Lira asked.

Sora was too preoccupied with the encounter he and the others had with the Organization. '_If that guy in the black coat really did mean Riku_,' the boy paused getting nervous. '_Did something happen to Riku?_''

"Hey Sora, you in there?" Levina asked. "You're acting awfully spacey."

Sora shook his head. "Oh…I…sorry," He rubbed the back of his head. "I was just thinking about what that guy in the black coat said. But what did that guy mean when he said 'he'll disappear…,' Saying this Sora became anxious. "Oh no…"

"Sora…" Donald and Goofy frowned.

"Go find him." Leon walked over.

"But what about all the Heartless in town?" Sora protested.

"We have to get everything ready before you can actually help," Leon replied looking over at Cid. "Right, Cid."

Cid lightly twitched annoyed by this. After all he would be the one doing all the work. "Right…" He said unmoving.

Sora lightly smiled. "We'll be back, I promise!"

"We'll be waiting." Leon said handing the guardians of light membership cards to their committee.

"What's this?" Levina looked down at the card.

"Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee honorary member!" Sora beamed.

"Membership cards!" Donald smiled.

Lira noticed discounts at most of the local shops. "It even had discounts around town!"

"Use that card around town and you'll get a five percent discount on all the purchases." Leon said in a manner of fact tone.

"Wow! What a great deal!" Sora beamed happily. The card suddenly began glowing in Sora's hand. "Huh?" The boy blinked and panicked as he saw his card fly out of his hand and out the door. "Ah! "He screamed. "My discount!" He screamed racing after the card.

"Sora?!" Donald squawked.

"Come back." Goofy protested.

"Wait for us, Sora." Levina called out trailing after the boy.

Lira faced palmed. "Those two I swear..," She groaned. "It's like having kids of your own and not knowing how to deal with them," She looked at the others. "Don't get into any trouble or get killed while we're gone."

"Take care." Kain said to her.

"We will not allow the Heartless to run rampant among our kingdom." Cecil said.

"You bet." Palom added. "Once we're all healed those Heartless won't have a chance against us.

"Says the mage who got beat up." Porom teased her twin.

Sora raced outside seeing his membership card floating in midair. The card was then surrounded by a bright light opening a keyhole in the middle of the sky.

Donald and Goofy looked up in surprise.

"Wak?! What is that?!" Donald quacked.

Levina looked up at the sky. "Wow…" She gazed at the giant keyhole. This was the first time she had ever seen one.

"It's a keyhole!" Sora said.

"Gawrsh, I'll bet it opens a gate." Goofy said.

"That's right," Donald added. "Remember what Master Yen Sid said. We have to open gates to other worlds or we can't go anywhere." He looked at Sora. "Sora, use your keyblade!"

Sora made his kingdom key keyblade appear in a blaze of light. "Already on it!" He raised his keyblade at the key hole in the sky. The kingdom key released a beam of light opening a path to another world in the realm between worlds. "Alright!" He cheered catching the membership card in his hand as the small piece of plastic fluttered in the air. "We're going to find Riku and the king!"

"Do you think we'll find my friends too?" Levina asked hopeful.

Sora smiled at her. "You bet!" He beamed optimistically.

"Don't give her false hope kid." Lira rolled her eyes.

"It's not false hope!" Sora told her. "We'll go to other worlds and try to find them! Which also means beating up heartless and stopping Organization 13." He rushed to the gummi ship hopping on board. "C'mon guys, let's go!"

* * *

The gummi ship landed in the next world. The ship landed in front of a large castle.

"So this is the next world?" Sora wondered staring at the high castle in front of him. '_My butt hurts from sitting in the ship for so long…_' He thought gently patting his sore backside.

"I hope we can find some clues here…" Donald said.

"It's kinda gloomy don'tcha think?" Goofy asked his friends.

Everyone suddenly jumped as they heard a ferocious snarl come from inside the castle.

"W-What was that?" Sora stammered getting behind Donald and Goofy who were clinging to the boy.

Levina looked at Sora. "You're scared?"

"Me? Scared?" Sora shook his head. "No way!" He boasted with pride. He jumped again hearing the same growl. "Ok! I am scared!"

"Quit being such a wimp," Lira told him. "You're the chosen one. You can't be scared. Toughen up!"

* * *

This castle was home to the Beast and his many servants. A terrible curse was placed upon him by an enchantress. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had met Beast during their trials in Hollow Bastion, when Malficent had kidnapped all the Princesses of Heart to open the keyhole in that world. Despite the Beast's mean demeanor, he was very close to a girl named Belle. She showed him how to be compassionate and most of all control that short temper of his. The Beast slowly grew to love the book-loving and kind woman. He had aided Sora in their battle with Malficent hoping to save Belle in the process. The only way for the curse to be broken was for someone to love him and he would love that person in return.

The Beast was sulking in his sanctuary of the castle, the West Wing. No one was allowed in this room. He was intently staring a rose wilting away slowly. This was source of the curse the enchantress had put on him and the rest of the castle.

"It won't be long before that rose wilts away." Xaldin said idly leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Ever since the Organization's plans began, Xaldin was eager to turn the Beast into a Heartless so that they would have a powerful Heartless on their side to control. "There is only one path for you, Beast."

The Beast remained silent not saying anything. He stared intently at the rose watching the enchanted petals fall one by one. '_Belle…_' He thought. '_She has given me so much and all I've done is chase her away. I want to tell her how I feel.'_

"Think about my offer." Xaldin said and looked out the window seeing Sora and the others. "Hm…," The Whirlwind Lancer mused. "Time to do some babysitting."

* * *

"Wow this place is pitch black." Goofy said as everyone entered the musty hallway. Cracks could be seen on the walls, the paintings hanging on the walls were covered in dusts and cobwebs, so were the armories.

"Maybe no one lives here." Sora assumed looking around.

"We better be on our guard." Lira told them. "There's no telling what could be lurking in the shadows."

"Right…," Sora nodded and then yelled, "HELLO?! IS ANYBODY HOME?!"

"Sora!" Lira spat at the boy aggravated. "Didn't you hear anything I said!?"

"Yeah…" Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I'm on guard."

"Then why are you shouting?!" Donald fumed. As he finished speaking a group of Solder and Shadow Heartless surrounded them.

"See what you did?!" Donald quacked.

Everyone made their weapons appeared rushing at the Heartless.

"This is all your fault!" Donald screamed at Sora as they all fought.

"Ok it's my fault! Sorry!" Sora apologized.

"To your left!" A voice warned Sora.

Sora swung his keyblade to the left striking down a Soldier heartless.

"Behind you deary." Another voice warned Levina.

Levina swung her keyblade as a Shadow heartless jumped at her. "These things are everywhere." She then blinked. "Tell me I'm the only one hearing voices."

"No I heard it too." Sora replied as the Heartless vanished.

"Splendid! Very well done." Someone said in a french accent.

"Allow me to thank you on behalf of the Master." Another voice commended.

Everyone looked below them and saw a talking candlestick and clock.

"A talking clock?!" Sora and Levina exclaimed.

"And a candlestick?!" Goofy, Donald, and Lira yelled.

"Don't let our looks deceive you," The candlestick told them. "We used to be human like you."

"We?" Sora blinked. He and the others saw all the furniture moving around and talking.

"Oh sure go and blab about the curse to everyone, Lumiere" The clock said.

"Cogsworth, that's enough," A teapot scolded. "These children here helped us.

"Who know how the Master feels about unwanted guests, Mrs. Potts." Cogsworth panicked.

"But Cogsworth we can trust them," Lumiere said brightly. "After all they took care of all the monsters.

"The Master will just have to suck it up and deal with it." Mrs. Potts added.

"So you guys are all under a spell?" Levina asked kneeling down beside the two talking inanimate objects.

"So that's why we thought no one was living here," Sora said and suddenly fell over as a footstool ran over barking like a dog. "Ack! Hey cut it out." The boy laughed as the tiny footstool's tassels tickled him.

"Indeed we are," Cogsworth frowned. "Oh if only the Master would learn to love."

Lumiere hopped towards Levina and Lira. "Perhaps you two could help the Master to fall in love?" The small candle took their hands and kissed it.

"Must you kiss every maiden's hand?" Cogsworth scowled as Lumiere continued kissing their hands. "We already have Belle to help us."

"But Master refuses to see Belle." Lumiere told his friend. "We'll be stuck like this forever if the last petal falls."

"Sorry but I'm not interested," Levina told them. "I have someone waiting for me to get back to."

"Yeah and with my track record with men you wouldn't want me helping out either." Lira added lightly frowning.

"There is only one way to break the spell." Cogsworth told them.

"Really? How?" Sora asked curiously.

"The Master must –" Cogsworth suddenly froze as he saw the hinges to the door in the empty hall bust open. It was the Beast. He was in a particularly bad mood.

"Beast?" Sora looked at his old comrade.

"M-Master…" Cogsworth trembled.

"What are they doing here?" The Beast growled looking at Sora and the others.

"These lovely ladies and fine gentlemen were just exterminating the Heartless in the castle and –" Lumiere stopped speaking as he and everyone else heard Sora.

"Beast! How's it going?" Sora beamed at his friend.

Beast sneered at them cruelly.

"Beast, you remember us don't you?" Sora asked. "Sora, Donald, and Goofy," He gestured to Levina and Lira. "They are our friends too. Come on you have to remember us! We fought together in Hollow Bastion!"

"You know each other?" Lumiere asked.

"Yup!" Donald replied.

Beast looked at them. "Yes…," He said calmly. "I remember you."

"Great!" Sora smiled grinning. "How's Belle?" He asked cheekily winking. "She's here too, right?"

At the mention of Belle's name, Beast became enraged letting out a violent roar.

"Wak!" Donald screamed hiding behind Lira.

"What's gotten into him?" Goofy wondered.

"Beast?!" Sora gulped.

"GET OUT!" Beast roared at them.

"You want us to leave?" Sora asked. "Why? I thought we were friends…" He frowned as the Beast's giant claws came upon his servants.

"And you!" Beast snarled at his servants stuffing them in a sack. "You're going into the dungeon. All of you!"

"Let's not be hasty your eminence!" Cogsworth yelled from inside the sack.

Beast ignored his servants cries from inside the sack and carried them off to the dungeons.

"What's gotten into him?" Sora wondered.

"The Master's been acting really odd." A small meek voice spoke up.

Levina looked over to the source of the voice and saw a little tea cup hopping over. "Aw hi there." She smiled at the tea cup holding out her hand.

The tiny tea cup named Chip hopped on Levina's hand. He looked up at Sora and the others. "He even locked Belle in her room and won't let her out."

"That's awful!" Sora frowned. "We have to do something!"

"Are you out of your mind!?" Donald squawked. "The Beast can tear us apart!"

"But Donald…," Sora protested. "Belle's really important to him. I'm sure they just had a misunderstanding."

"That can't be the reason," Lira replied. "Why would the Beast lock up someone that he cares about?"

Levina looked at Chip. "Can you take us to Belle?"

Chip smiled widely hopping off Levina's hand. "Sure!" He beamed. "Follow me!"

* * *

'_Beast_…' Belle thought grimly as she looked out the window of her room. '_What is happening to him…_' She thought. '_Where is the gently kind hearted person who saved me from those wolves...' _

Belle broke out of her thoughts as she heard clink noises coming from the door. It was Chip.

"Belle!" Chip beamed happily hopping over to her.

"Chip?" Belle questioned. "How did you unlock the door?" She asked and then a twinge of fear entered her mind. "What if the Beast finds out?"

Belle looked at the door as it opened. She smiled seeing Sora, Donald, Goofy, Levina, and Lira.

"You're friends helped me!" Chip smiled.

Sora twirled his Kingdom Key keyblade in his hand. "Long time no see, Belle!"

"Oh, it's you!" Belle smiled graciously remembering how Sora, Donald, and Goofy had helped her and the other Princesses of Heart from Malficent's grasp.

"Could you tell us why the Beast is so grumpy?" Levina asked curiously.

"I don't know why…," Belle lowered her head. "He's always had a bad temper, but this all came on so suddenly. He's gotten worse. The next thing I knew he stopped talking to me."

"Something must've happened," Lira said. "With this many Heartless running around the castle it can't be just a coincidence."

"Let's go find him!" Belle urged. "I have to talk to him." She told them. "I have to get him to tell me what's wrong!"

* * *

Beast locked the doors to his dungeon. He could hear his servants pleas begging him to let them out. He just cruelly snarled and walked off.

"Everyone in the castle resents you." Xaldin said.

"Master!" Lumiere begged.

"Please let us out!" Cogsworth yelled.

"You can't keep us here like this!" Mrs. Potts pleaded.

"They despise you." Xaldin told Beast filling his head with dark thoughts.

"Of course they do…," Beast growled balling his fists. "It's my fault they've been put under a spell."

Xaldin grinned from under his hood. "Why aren't you angry?" He asked. "Give into your rage!" He boasted. "They all blame you for this curse. They all blame you that it hasn't been broken. Meanwhile, they do nothing but wait for their doom. They've unfairly left the burden on your shoulders."

"I…" Beast lowered his head.

"Join us," Xaldin told him. "Join Organization 13. Then you will no longer feel this guilt."

Beast continued to listen to Xaldin's words.

The former guardsman of Radiant Garden smirked knowing exactly how to play with the Beast's heart. "No one will criticize your beastly form."

"Beast!" Sora shouted. "Don't listen to him!" He glared at Xaldin. "You're the one behind all this!"

"I knew those puny Heartless would be no match for you." Xaldin commended.

Sora and the others tightly held their weapons.

"Darn right!" Sora leaped in the air raising his keyblade high over his head to strike Xaldin.

"I was in the middle of a transaction." Xaldin fumed flinging the boy into Donald and Goofy. "I don't want you to interfere!"

"Beast!" Belle huffed catching her breath.

"Bell?!" Beast angrily growled. "What are you doing out of your room?!"

"I wanted to talk to you!" Belle pleaded reaching to take his paw. She suddenly screamed as Xaldin used his manipulation of the wind to lift her off the ground.

"So this is what's been holding your heart back from the darkness." Xaldin grinned eagerly placing his gloved hand underneath Belle's chin.

Seeing Belle in peril, Beast became enraged with anger.

"Let Belle go you coward!" Levina yelled.

"Yeah you coward!" Sora screamed.

"You're name calling inspires no guilt in a man who has no heart," Xaldin sneered at them. "If you won't join the Organization, Beast, then perhaps this girl's heart is meaningless to you – Ah" The Whirlwind Lancer screamed as Belle jabbed her elbow into his chest.

"Way to go Belle!" Sora smiled. He frowned seeing her fall.

Beast quickly ran over and caught her. "You're safe, Belle." He smiled at her.

"Neener, neener!" Sora, Donald and Goofy taunted.

"You little…! Xaldin growled in frustrated. "Let me show you what happens when I get angry!" He roared.

"Nice going you three." Lira rolled her eyes.

They all suddenly heard a horrible rattling.

"What is that?" Levina nervously wondered holding her keyblade tightly in her hands.

Out from the shadows appeared a black sphere with several twisted tentacles sprouting out of it. Two of these are large, each sporting two metal bands around them, while the rest are smaller and placed more haphazardly around the Heartless's body. The tips of all of these tentacles are orange. Its jagged maw is red on the inside, and its eyes are eerie, glowing, yellow circles with pitch-black rings around them. The most prominent feature of this Heartless are the two chains wrapped around its body, with each end of both chains attached to a conical weight. This was known as a Shadow Stalker.

"Waaak!" Donald screamed holding his staff tightly.

"Gawrsh, that fella doesn't look every friendly." Goofy gulped holding onto shield.

"We have to stop it!" Sora told his friends courageously.

"Xaldin!" Beast growled angrily tightly holding onto Belle.

Xaldin smirked. "I will take all you hold dear!" He told the Beast. "This castle. Your servants. The girl. Once your heart has turned darkest black you will give it to us! As an offering to Kingdom Hearts!"

* * *

**I wanted to end the whole visit to Beast's castle in KH 2, but then I realized this chapter would've been like 30 pages long rofl, so I decided to stop here **

**Leave a review :) **


	15. Where Love Is

**What's this? An update :D Yup it's an update guys! **

**I'm trying my best to update soon because come November I won't be able to since NanoWrimo will take up most of time! **

**Enjoy the update! **

* * *

Chapter 15 – Where Love Is

Deep beneath the Beast's Castle, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts were trying desperately to find a way out of the dungeon. The ceiling above them started to rumble.

"Earthquake!" Cogsworth panicked.

"Quick under the table!" Lumiere ushered everyone underneath a small wooden table that was nearby.

The walls and ceiling around them began wobbling. Some pieces of debris were starting to fall.

"Eeek!" Cogsworth shrieked as a brick almost fell over on them. "No, no I'm not ready to be broken."

"What on Earth is going on up there?" Mrs. Potts wondered in distress.

* * *

Sora was rapidly swinging his keyblade at the Shadow Stalker. The Shadow Stalker sunk into the ground and reappeared in the wall behind them.

"That thing is too fast!" Sora panted catching his breath.

"We have to stop it or it'll bring the whole castle down!" Levina glared at the horrible creature causing destruction.

"That's right keep fighting little keyblade wielders," Xaldin taunted. "Grant us more hearts for Kingdom Hearts."

Sora turned to Xaldin. "Kingdom Hearts?!" He yelled. "What are you plotting?!"

"What indeed?" Xaldin grinned at Sora maliciously. "You have a great service to perform for us, hero of light."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sora growled. "I'm not here to perform a play!"

"I think he means he wants you to help him with something, Sora." Donald told him waving his staff at the Shadow Stalker as it emerged again from the walls.

"Why would I do a thing like that?!" Sora yelled in frustration trying to attack the heartless, but the Shadow Stalker sunk back into the wall. "Stupid Heartless!" He yelled. "It keeps hiding in the walls!"

Beast pushed Belle back as the Shadow Stalker began breaking the pillars holding the ceiling up. He looked at Donald and Goofy. "Donald, Goofy, take care of Belle."

"Huh?" Donald blinked confused.

"Don'tcha worry!" Goofy smiled. "We'll protect her!"

"Beast…" Belle frowned wearily looking concerned for him.

Beast looked at Sora, Levina, and Lira. "I'll hold it down," He told them. "And then you three attack it with all you're might!"

"Got it!" Sora nodded.

"Step back, Belle." Goofy protectively held his shield out while Donald held his staff.

Donald quacked lightly noticing that Belle was bleeding. "Wak!" He exclaimed. "You're bleeding Belle!"

"That's not important…" Belle said looking at the Beast as the Shadow Stalker reappeared. "He'll get hurt…"

"Don't worry, I've got the right spell!" Donald waved his staff. "_Cure_!" A small sprinkle of green light appeared from his staff and healed Belle's injury.

Beast lunged at the Shadow Stalker grabbing it by the front of its chains. With all his strength, Beast tightly held onto the Heartless. "I've got it!" He said triumphantly.

"Here goes!" Sora yelled leaping in the air swinging his keyblade.

The Shadow Stalker knew it was in peril and tried sinking back into the walls.

"You won't escape!" Beast growled holding on tighter.

"Beast, move you'll get hurt!" Levina protested.

"Just finish it off!" Beast told her.

"He's giving us a chance," Lira said to her. "We have to attack it." She casted flare on the Heartless.

"I guess…" Levina thought hesitant at first but swung her keyblade. "Sora, hurry!"

Sora gave the finishing blow to the Heartless and the dark creature was reduced to just a floating heart.

* * *

"What was that noise?!" Lumiere thought hopping over to the door. "We have to open the door!"

The tiny inanimate objects tried their hardest to open the door but it wouldn't budge, no matter how hard they pushed.

"This isn't working!" Mrs. Potts frowned. "It won't move an inch!"

"We are powerless!" Cogsworth said in dismay.

Lumiere stopped pushing. "I could be wrong," He thought out loud. "But all that noise from earlier has stopped."

"Do you think the Master is alright?" Mrs. Potts asked in concern.

"We won't find out by staying in here." Cogsworth said urgently.

"Everybody push!" Lumiere told them. "Push with all your might! For the Master's sake!"

The tiny objects heaved their tiny bodies at the door. Very slowly, the door ushered opened. They all gasped as they saw the Beast panting heavily on his knees. He seemed to be in a lot of pain. "Master?!" They all screamed.

Xaldin hovered over towards the Beast. Despite having the Shadow Stalker defeated, Beast was very weakened which he would use to his advantage. "In your mangled condition," He began. "You still took on that Heartless with your bare hands."

"Beast!" Belle ran towards him.

"Stay back!" Beast ordered causing Belle to stop.

"Beast hold on!" Sora ran over to Beast to help him despite the Beast telling not to.

Xaldin stopped the small hero. "Not a move from you," He threatened. "Not unless you want the Beast to die."

"Quick Donald cast cure on the Beast!" Lira told him.

"You got it!" Donald waved his staff. Unfortunately the staff wasn't responding. "Hey! Come on!" He yelled in frustration shaking his staff and then suddenly panicked. "Uh oh…," The duck frowned. "I used up all my magic power on Belle!"

"What?!" Goofy gasped. "You can't use your magic?!"

"Don't you have any items?!" Donald squawked.

Goofy rummaged through his pockets frowning, "Nope..sorry Donald."

"I've got nothing too." Sora said showing his empty pockets.

"We should've stocked up on items in Hollow Bastion before we left." Lira sighed.

"But we didn't have enough munny." Levina frowned.

Xaldin looked down at Beast. "You can barely stand," He said. "All you can do now is beg. Beg for your friends' lives!"

"Argh!" Sora yelled. "What do we do?!"

"Master…!" Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts ran over to the weakened Beast.

"No, stay back all of you." Beast told them.

The Beast's servants were suddenly lifted off the ground by Xaldin.

"Do you mind, sir!" Cogsworth yelled. "Put us down at once!"

"Such a fragile bunch," Xaldin turned to the Beast smirking at him.

"Don't!" Beast growled.

"Choose," Xaldin told him. "All you hold dear or your short existence."

"Beast, no!" Belle screamed.

Beast lowered his head. He would never want anyone or anything to endanger Belle. "Very well…," Beast replied slowly. "I'll join you."

"Beast!" Belle screamed.

"Master, don't do it!" Cogsworth shouted.

Xaldin sneered at the inanimate objects in his hand. He carelessly dumped them on the ground hoping they would break. "Excellent." The Whirlwind Lancer smirked clenching his fist. "Tthen I shall take your heart."

Beast bowed his head. '_It's better this way…,_' He thought.

"No! BEAST, DON'T!" Sora screamed at the top of his lungs hoping to jog some sense into him, but it was already too late.

'_They all resent me_," Beast thought bringing the darkness inside of his heart to life. _'I am a curse. A hideous monster. A beast_.' Shadows consumed Beast's body. '_If I can save them by fading away…_' The Beast roared angrily as the shadows surrounding him consumed his entire being.

"Beast…!" Sora frowned running up to him. "Are you alright?" Sora fell back as Beast lunged at him.

"Sora!" Levina cried out in concern.

"You fools are too late." Xaldin grinned.

"Sacre blieu!" Lumiere cried out as Beast continued to lunge at Sora in a blind fit of rage. "What has happened to the Master?!" He didn't care who got in the way. He wanted to destroy everyone and everything around him.

"Belle, look out!" Donald gently grabbed her hand pushing her away from danger as Beast continued attacking Sora.

"Oh Beast…" Belle frowned.

"What did you do to him?!" Lira glared at Xaldin.

"The Beast's heart has been consumed by darkness." Xaldin replied. "Soon he will become a Heartless, and a powerful Nobody will be born. That Nobody will join our Organization."

Sora held his keyblade tightly in his hand trying to avoid Beast's claws. He blocked with his keyblade, but didn't want to hurt Beast.

"I trust you'll use your keyblade to take care of him," Xaldin jeered.

Sora lightly glared. '_What should I do?_'' He thought wearily. '_I can't hurt him…but if I don't I might be a goner…_' He screamed as Beast shoved him into the wall breaking one of the statue's in the process.

Levina and Goofy ran over to Sora.

"Sora, are you ok?" Levina asked.

"We should've brought potions with us." Goofy said.

Lira viciously glared at Xaldin. "I've had it with you and your lame Organization!" She yelled heaving a large block of ice at the man in front of him.

Xaldin grinned shattering the block of ice into tiny harmless pieces with his lance.

"It can't be true…" Sora winced as he slowly stood up. "The Beast's heart can't be taken by the darkness…!"

"Go on pierce the Beast's heart, key bearer." Xaldin said smugly.

"Your highness!" Lumiere called out.

"Don't give in Master!" Mrs. Potts begged.

"Please you can't let him turn you into a Heaertless!" Cogsworth said.

"Hey guys!" Sora screamed at the tiny objects. "What are you doing?! He'll crush you!"

"But…!" Lumiere protested.

"We can't just sit back and watch this happen…" Cogsworth replied.

"He can't hear anything you say!" Sora told them.

"Sora, look out!" Levina warned the boy.

Sora turned around seeing the Beast's giant paw about to come down on him.

"Beast, no!" Belle flung herself at him grabbing onto his giant form.

"Belle!" Goofy and Donald yelled. "It's too dangerous!" They told her.

"You are a strong person!" Belle said trying her hardest to get through to him. "Don't let the darkness beat you!"

Sora looked at the emptiness in Beast's eyes. '_Is it working?_' He wondered. "Beast…?" He called out to him.

Beast looked at the boy wanting to strike him, but he couldn't get himself to do it.

"Hmph," Xaldin scowled. "I see he retains some awareness."

Beast growled angrily.

"His heart has already been plunged into darkness," Xaldin said. "It's only a matter of time."

Belle flashed Xaldin an angry look. "You!" She yelled pointing her finger at him. "You with the cheap dreadlocks! You think you can look down on us! If you want to take Beast, you'll have to go through all of us!"

Sora, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth looked at Belle in disbelief.

"She must really love the Beast." Lira smiled.

"Yeah." Levina nodded. "He must be really special to her heart."

"You make an excellent point," Xaldin said making several wind lances appear around him. "I have no further use for any of you."

"What…?" Belle asked.

"I will dispose of you all!" Xaldin yelled hurling the several lances towards everyone.

Belle and Beast's servants screamed in terror as the dangerous projectiles came hurtling towards them.

Sora, Lira, and Levina quickly used their weapons to block the lances from hurting their friends.

"Belle, how could you be so rash?!" Sora yelled.

"I had to try something…" Belle replied. "I was hoping that would be enough to jog Beast to his senses."

"You tried your best." Levina said to him.

"All of you have to run!" Sora told everyone.

"Are you kidding me," Lira scoffed. "We're not leaving you behind shrimp."

"We can't do that!" Levina said jumping back as Beast's claws almost clipped her hair.

"Why is he so agitated over you two?!" Lira wondered as Beast continued trying to get at least Sora or Levina.

"Now, now," Xaldin said in mock concern. "You have more things to worry about."

Sora yelled as Beast yanked him roughly by the front of his shirt.

"He is drawn to the keyblade," Xaldin grinned. "Like an insect seeking light in the darkness."

"Sora!" Donald panicked.

"Put him down!" Goofy yelled.

"Beast…!" Sora cringed as Beast tightened his hold. "You heard Belle's voice didn't you?!" He winced. "The light…" He looked at Beast. "Don't lose sight of the light!" He tried his hardest to get through to him. "If you can see a light in the darkness go after it!"

Beast stared at Sora emotionlessly.

"Sora…" Levina frowned.

Xaldin turned his attention towards Belle and Beast's servants. "Now then," The Whirlwind Lancer smirked. "I'll let you be useful to me before I make you all disappear," He made a terrifying mist of darkness appear in the palm of his hand. "I'll turn you all into Heartless!"

Belle stared at the horrible ugly mist in fear. "Beast…please… help us!"

"Nothing you do will save him now!" Xaldin laughed.

"Beast you have to help them!" Sora begged. "Help Belle!"

"B-Belle…" Beast's eyes flickered. "Belle!" He roared dropping Sora and ran at Xaldin crushing the man beneath his feet.

Xaldin let out a sickening scream as he felt Beast crush his spine.

"That wasn't part of the deal!" Beast roared throwing Xaldin to the ground.

"Beast!" Belle yelled in relief.

"Master!" Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts ran to him.

"Thank heavens you're alright!" Belle hugged him.

"We knew you'd come back to us!" Cogsworth smiled.

"I'm sorry…" Beast frowned feeling horribly guilty for what he tried to do.

Xaldin wearily peeled himself up off the floor. His face was covered in dirt and blood. "You fool…" He gasped "Why did you give up the darkness…"

"Beast's heart beat the darkness!" Sora declared.

Beast's eyes narrowed at Xaldin. "Get out." He seethed. "Never set foot in our world again!"

"You don't wanna finish him off?" Goofy asked.

"He's not a mindless creature," Beast answered. "He knows what I'm saying. I don't want to waste my time fighting him if I don't have to."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Donald asked.

Sora looked over at Xaldin. Now that he was weak enough, he aimed his Kingdom Key keyblade at the broken man. "Hey Organization 13 guy!"

Xaldin looked up at the keyblade's chosen.

"If you do anything to hurt them we'll come after you!" Sora threatened.

Xaldin snorted as Sora's threat. "If you don't want to waste my time, save your pity!" He sneered floating in the air creating a dark corridor to escape. "While you're throwing around your naïve ideas of mercy, the Organization will change the worlds!"

Everyone braced themselves on the floor as heavy gusts of wind were blowing from the corridor.

"If a heart is what bests the darkness," Xaldin smirked. "Then it is also a heart that is bested by the darkness! I'll return the last petal falls –"The Whirlwind Lancer suddenly gasped. He felt something pierce in his body. He looked down seeing gigantic shards of ice going through his body.

"You won't be able to do anything now!" Lira sneered at the man.

"Wak!" Donald yelled. "Lira, what did you do?!"

"Gawrsh, you didn't have to finish him off like that." Goofy frowned.

Lira icily glared at Xaldin as the man fell to the ground disappearing in a horrible darkness that had once consumed his heart. Death had welcomed the former guardsman with open arms.

"We spared him!" Sora yelled.

"That was really harsh." Levina said.

Lira's eyes flared at the two children in front of her. "If this was the other way around, he wouldn't have wasted a split second in killing all of us!"

"But…" Sora frowned. '_If it means killing them…,_' He thought uncertain. '_They are people too…people without hearts…_'

"They're the bad guys!" Lira said. "It's our job to stop them! Even if it means killing them!"

"Lira does have a point." Donald agreed.

"That's right we have to maintain the world border!" Goofy added.

"Order, Goofy." Donald corrected his friend.

"The castle is a disaster!" Cogsworth frowned looking at the messy halls and rooms.

"We have a lot of cleaning to do." Mrs. Potts said.

Soon enough everyone began cleaning up the castle and trying their best to repair everything.

"I thought it would be better for everyone if I disappeared." Beast said as he picked up broken pieces of a large statue.

Belle sighed. "That's right," She told him. "You are so exasperating." She looked at him gently. "You refuse to understand." She walked over to the Beast as she was sweeping the dust away with a broom. "You weren't making us unhappy," She confessed. "You were making us worry." She let go of the broom embracing him gently. "Don't ever worry me like that again."

Beast stiffened at the hug, but he slowly relaxed. He looked down at her. "I won't…" He promised.

Sora, Levina, Lira, Donald, and Goofy pushed back the large castle doors together.

Cogsworth looked at them. "Oh that's right we were talking about the spell before all this horrible danger happened."

"If there's anything we can do…" Sora suggested.

The tiny clock looked at his new friends. "When the enchantress cast her spell, she left behind a single rose," He began. "If the Master can truly love another and earn another's love in return before the last petal falls then the spell will be broken."

"Aww," Levina smiled. "That's so romantic."

"It's a little too fairy tale for me." Lira said.

"Do you think he's gonna make it?" Sora asked.

"We think so." Mrs. Potts smiled looking at Belle and Beast. "They'll make it before the last petal falls."

Sora, Levina, Lira, Donald, and Goofy smiled brightly at this.

"They'll be alright." Sora smiled looking at his friends. "Come on let's go to the next world."

The visitors left Beast's castle and departed for the next world.

* * *

In the Round Room of the Castle that Never Was, the remaining members of Organization 13 were having another meeting.

"Brr…," Demyx shivered. "It's cold in here today." He complained.

"There is definitely a chill in the air today." Xemnas frowned. He then saw a Dusk floating over to him. "Something to report?"

The Dusk whispered incoherent noises.

Xemnas looked at his left over Organization. "The key bearer has already started to the next world." He looked at Xaldin's empty seat.

"Xaldin is a no-show," Saix said. "Perhaps the keyblade wielders and his friends disposed of him." He looked around the room and noticed Axel wasn't back yet either. '_Where did that fool disappear to?'_ He thought. '_He better report back soon.' _

"Like that little runt could take down one of us on his own, as if." Xigbar scowled. "I'll teach that little squirt a lesson."

"Do not underestimate the key bearer," Luxord said holding his cards. "It seems as though the cards of fate had other plans for Xaldin."

"Then we must strike back strongly." Xemnas said. "No act will go unpunished by the heroes of light who dare cross us."

* * *

**Next world visit is Mulan! Time to get down to business and defeat some huns :D**

**:D Review**


	16. Make A Man Out of You

**New chapter! I love the movie Mulan! It's one of my top five favorite Disney movie :D **

**Let's see how Sora and the others handle being in a world where girls aren't allowed to fight. **

**There's needs to be a Kingdom Hearts version of 'Make A Man out of You' like in Dragonball Z abridged :D Yen Sid would totally be singing this to them rofl in Kingdom Hearts 3! **

**So I wrote this little number while working on the chapter :D **

_**Let's get down to business! To defeat the darkness!**_

_**Did they send me soldiers? When I asked for Masters!**_

_**You're the saddest bunch I've ever met...**_

_**But you can bet before we're through...**_

_**Sora, I'll make a Keyblade Master out of you!**_

_**Raging as the darkness, but a light within **_

_**Once you find your light, you are sure to win **_

_**You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot **_

_**And you haven't got a clue...**_

_**Sora, I'll make Keyblade Master out of you! **_

_**Kairi - I'm never going to get to fight **_

_**Lea - Say good-bye to old friends **_

_**Riku - I won't let the darkness take my heart **_

_**Mickey - Xehanort's got them scared to death **_

_**Entire KH cast - Hope Kingdom Hearts 3 doesn't screw me **_

_**Sora - My friends are my power**_

_**(Be a keyblade master) You must believe in the light **_

_**(Be a keyblade master) With the force of the power in your heart**_

_**(Be a keyblade master) With all the strength of a raging light **_

_**Mysterious as the darkness in Kingdom Hearts **_

_**Time is racing forward until Organization 13 arrives! **_

_**Believe in the light and you might survive! **_

_**The X-blade won't be forged in this new keyblade war, don't give in, you're not through. **_

_**How could I make a Keyblade Master out of you? **_

_**(Be a keyblade master) You must believe in the light**_

_**(Be a keyblade master) With the force of the power in your heart**_

_**(Be a ketblade master) With all the strength of a raging light**_

_**Mysterious as the darkness in Kingdom Hearts!**_

**Enjoy the update! **

* * *

Chapter 16 – Make A Man Out of You

The gummi ship landed in the middle of a jungle.

"So where are we?" Sora wondered as he looked around.

Everyone saw mountains and a campsite in the distance.

"Well according to the gummi ship we're in China." Donald said looking at the map.

Goofy brightly smiled at some bamboo trees nearby. "A'hyuck! A bamboo shoot! We can make soup!" He said energentically trying to pull the pieces of bamboo off the tree. He froze hearing a rustling noise in the bushes.

"…What is that?" Levina wondered.

"Is it a Heartless?" Lira thought.

The rustling became louder and everyone prepared themselves to attack. Out from the bushes came a panda bear.

"Awww, it's just a panda bear." Levina cooed.

The panda walked over to Sora sniffing him. "H-Hey!" Sora yelled. "Stop that! I'm not food!"

"I think he likes you, Sora." Levina giggled.

The panda bear gave the strangers one more sniff before walking off in search of food.

"Look I think there are people over there!" Donald pointed to the campsite.

"It looks like a campground," Lira assumed. "Let's check it out."

* * *

The campsite was actually a training ground for China's army. The army was led by Li Shang. Shang is the son of General Li, the head of the Chinese army. He is a highly capable leader with a dedication to his cause. It is mentioned that he was first in his class in regards to military affairs and was knowledgeable in training tactics. However, he has tendencies to be too "by-the-book" He is often disparagingly called a 'Pretty Boy' due to his dashing good looks and strong physique. He is reserved and thoughtful, a more logical and calming influence.

"Focus!" Shang instructed his clumsy men.

Unbeknownst to Shang or any of the members of the army, one of their men was a girl. Her name was Mulan. She enlisted in the army in secret because she couldn't bare watching her aging father fight in the war with the Huns. She disguised herself as a man to fit in and blend better. She was known as Ping to the members of the army.

Shang frowned at Mulan's struggling form as she tried climbing a large pole. "What's wrong with you?" His frown grew larger as the rest of his men were struggling with their training. "Don't any of you have a spine?!" He growled frustrated. "You are to be the wall standing between Shan-Yu and the imperial city! I'll make men out of you yet!"

Sora, Levina, Lira, Donald and Goofy watched the training at a safe distance.

"What are they doing?" Sora wondered.

A slender, black haired man stared at Sora and the others suspiciously. He was wearing a blue cap and robes with brown shoes. He stared at them with his beady eyes as he twirled his kempt mustache. This was the emperor's councilman, Chi-Fu.

"You there!" Chi-Fu shouted. "What doing you think you're doing?!"

Sora jumped almost toppling everyone over. He leered at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "You three young men, what family do you come from?"

"Huh? Family?" Sora blinked.

"Get back to your training!" Chi-Fu scolded.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran towards the training grounds completely terrified of Chi-Fu.

The emperor's councilman looked at Levina and Lira. "You two young ladies should not even be allowed to be permitted in the training grounds."

"What?!" Lira growled. "Why not!?"

"Women aren't allowed to fight in the war." Chi-Fu flatly said.

"That's not fair!" Levina jeered. "We can fight just as hard as any of your men!"

"I highly doubt that child!" Chi-Fu sneered. "If you want to go home crying be my guest and train."

Lira looked over and face palmed at Sora, Donald, and Goofy attempting to dodge the army's bamboo sticks which they were using at swords.

Mulan looked down at what was going on and slipped. "Ah!" She screamed falling on top of Sora who broke her fall.

The guised girl gasped and quickly got off him. "Oh I'm so sorry!" She said trying to impersonate a man's voice.

"Are you hurt?" Sora asked.

"Uh no..," Mulan said lifting two heavy disks. "Sorry about falling on you, kid. Just spit it off and you'll be fine."

"Ping!" Shang shouted at Mulan. "Pull yourself together! You call yourself a man!"

Mulan lightly glared. "Yes sir!" She said. "I am a man sir!"

'_What the heck…?_' Sora blinked looking at Mulan as she tried climbing the large pole again.

* * *

The training continued well into the night. Levina and Lira were proving themselves just fine even though they weren't allowed to be the front during the battle. Sora, Donald, and Goofy on the other hand were struggling with their training.

"Alright men, let's call it a day!" Shang told his men.

Sora collapsed to the ground exhausted dropping two rock disks. "We've been training since dawn…" He panted.

"You boys are such wimps." Levina teased handing Sora some water to drink.

"Gawrsh from the looks of things, I'd say we're in a military camp." Goofy said thoughtfully.

"As long as we're here we should find out some information." Donald suggested.

"I just hope we don't have to train again tomorrow morning," Sora groaned. "Being a keyblade wielder is tough enough."

"Stop complaining, Sora," Levina told him. "Everyone here is working really hard. We have to give it a try too."

"I guess…" Sora frowned.

"There better be a place to take a bath in this world." Lira grumbled. "Just because we're training with you boys doesn't mean Levina and I have to smell like you."

"I think I saw a lake somewhere." Sora said pointing to a lake nearby.

They wandered over towards the lake. The water looked clean enough.

"Is this water clean?" Donald wondered.

"It looks ok." Goofy said.

Levina looked at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "Ummm do you boys mind going somewhere else?" She asked them lightly blushing. "We need to take our clothes off."

"Wak!" Donald quacked covering his eyes.

"They haven't done anything yet, Donald." Goofy told his friend.

"O-Oh! Right…" Sora stammered as his face flushed.

"Get lost or I skewer all of you." Lira said agitated glaring at them.

Just as Sora, Donald, and Goofy were about to leave, everyone heard voices.

"Stupid quests," Mulan grumbled nearby. "I never get to take a real bath. As long as I'm clean I guess it doesn't matter."

"What's that?" Sora wondered taking a peek from the bushes.

"That sounds like Ping!" Goofy said.

Mulan reached to grab her towel which was hanging on a nearby tree branch as Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked in on her.

"Ah!" Sora screamed covering his eyes with his hand. "I'm sorry!" He apologized quickly. "I didn't know you were a girl!" He said blushing embarrassed.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Lira asked coming over with a wet towel draped around herself. She saw what was going on and glared at them. "Did you three want a peep show that badly?!"

"What?! A peep show?!" Sora gulped. "NO!" He yelled and blushed more seeing Levina walk over.

"What's with all the noise?" Levina asked coming over with a towel draped around herself. "Were you three looking at her?"

Sora kept his eyes covered with his hands. "D-Do you guys mind getting dressed please…!" He begged.

"I will once I teach you boys a lesson!" Lira threatened.

"Lira, it was an accident!" Donald confessed. "We didn't mean to walk in on her!"

"Too late!" A new voice boomed.

"W-What was that?!" Goofy gulped.

The voice belonged to a small and slender red Chinese dragon. The dragon has blue horns, a gold mustache with a yellow under belly, and a dark red nose. The tiny dragon looked at them with his small black eyes. He was standing about a foot and half in size. The dragon's name was Mushu. He was in charge helping Mulan bring honor to her family.

"You have beheld Ping's nakedness!" Mushu roared spitting fire from his mouth charring Sora's, Donald's, and Goofy's clothes.

"Mushu!" Mulan scolded her guardian.

The small dragon turned to her replying annoyed, "I told you, you'd blow your cover with your stupid girl habits!" He looked Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "How are we going to keep 'em quiet?" The small dragon suddenly yelped as Sora lifted him off the ground.

"What's with the lizard?" Sora questioned.

"Who are you callin' a lizard?!" Mushu yelled. "I am Mushu! The guardian of lost souls! The indestructible dragon!"

"He's my guardian." Mulan said pulling her clothes back on killing Mushu's dramatic moment.

Mushu sternly looked at Sora and the others. "Now listen up you little heroes!" He scolded. "Under no circumstances are y'all to tell anyone she's a girl. 'Cos if anyone finds out she'll be put to death!"

"DEATH?!" Sora screamed.

"Scream any louder Sora, I don't think the army heard you!" Lira scowled at the boy.

"Oops, sorry." Sora sheepishly kept his mouth shut.

* * *

"The imperial city is under attack," Mulan explained as everyone walked back to the campgrounds quietly sneaking into an empty tent. "So the Emperor's ordered a one man from every family to serve the army."

"That's right no girls allowed!" Mushu said directly his words to Levina and Lira. "See it's a 'man's honor' to defend his country and his family they say."

"Why are you dressed up as a guy?" Levina asked as she and Lira came back dressed.

"I wanted to enlist in the army and fight the Hun army because my father is too old," Mulan told them. "He wouldn't last at all if he was here since he's still recovering from the last war the city fought against the Hun army."

"She ran off without tellin' anyone." Mushu stated.

Mulan lowered her gaze to her father's sword. "My father must be so angry with me…," She frowned tightly holding the hilt of her father's mighty sword. "If they find out I'm a woman, I will bring dishonor to my family," She looked up at her new friends. "But...I wanted to prove that I too can do what needs to be done."

Levina smiled at Mulan's courage. '_She's just like me..,_' she thought smiling at the girl. _'There's so much I wanted to prove to Dad when I started my journey as a keyblade wielder,_' a small memory of Eraqus filled her head. '_I wonder if he's proud of me…_'

"I know it sounds crazy, but you can't tell anyone at all." Mulan told them.

"It's not crazy." Sora replied. "I know how you feel."

Donald squawked at Sora in disbelief. "You do?!"

"What!?" Sora looked at Donald. "I'm not supposed to understand how she feels?!"

"You normally don't understand people." Donald said truthfully.

"We're supposed to ambush Shan-Yu and his forces tomorrow," Mulan told them. "Will you help us?"

"Gawrsh Mulan, of course we'll help." Goofy replied.

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "We're in this together."

Mulan smiled at them. "Thank you."

* * *

Shan-Yu leader of the Hun army was plotting his next move in the mountains. He was a, giant, slender muscular man with mustachioed evil feline black eyes with yellow scleras. His, half bald dark and abundant hair was protected with the helmet he wore and he wore stocky, black-yellow robe with furry pelts with a left-handed black glove and black boots. His faithful companion, a falcon named Hayabusa obediently flew over to its master's side.

"What do you want here?" Shan-Yu asked.

Xigbar looked at him through the hood of his Organization coat as the campfire flickered between them. "Help our Organization," He told the leader of the most vicious army in China. "…and you'll get everything you want. It's a total win-win."

This offer was something Shan-Yu wouldn't dare pass up. '_China will fall before my feet._' He thought greedily. "I shall join you." He said.

"Shan-Yu," One of his soldiers called to the Hun army leader. "There is an ambush waiting for us among the pass."

"Let them come," Shan-Yu replied grinning maliciously. "With our new power ten thousand of their men will not stop us."

* * *

Shang led his army along the mountain pass. He was in the lead with Chi-Fu much to Sora's displeasure. The boy was freezing. "W-Who knew mountains were s-so c-cold!" He shivered as he carried a Chinese dragon shaped firecracker in his hand.

"How far is this path anyway?" Donald sneezed.

"Here ya go Donald." Goofy handed Donald his handkerchief with King Mickey's insignia on it.

Donald blew on the handkerchief hard.

"Ew Donald…" Lira grimaced.

"Here you go, Sora." Levina casted a small fireball around the boy to warm him up.

"Ah that's much better." Sora replied with a smile.

Shang rolled his eyes at the new comers of the army and scowled as Mulan was lagging behind. "Ping!" He shouted. "Stop dragging your feet.

"What a baby." Yao said. He was among three soldiers who stood by each other no matter what in the army.

"He should've just stayed home," Li said. "And played house with those girls."

Levina and Lira glared at the three soldiers taunting them.

"How much further along the pass?" Sora asked groaning. "This rocket is heavy…" He pouted accidently jabbing Yao with it.

"Hey!" Yao shouted. "Watch where you're going!"

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there." Sora told him. He saw Mulan struggling to climb the mountain. "I guess this is really tough for a girl, huh?"

"Hey it's tough for me too." Donald flopped to the ground.

"Your men are the most pitiful army I've ever seen." Chi-Fu said. "And to think they're ready to fight! Ha!"

"They've all completed their training," Shang replied with confidence frowning at Sora, Donald, and Goofy who were taking breaks in between the walk. "I know they are ready."

"They won't last a minute against the Huns!" Chi-Fu told him. "I pray for your luck in battle. You're going to need it."

"We'll reach the mountain village soon," Shang said looking at his pitiful men." We'll rendezvous with the general's men and –" Shang couldn't finish his sentence. He and the rest of the army saw the village where China's general and army were now reduced to smoldering piles of ash. The village was completely burnt down and there were dead bodies everywhere.

"This is…," Sora frowned taking in the site. "Terrible…"

"Sir!" Li ran over to Shang handing him a helmet which was discovered in the snow. "The general's helmet."

Shang held the helmet tightly in his cold fingers. His father was dead.

Mulan lightly frowned seeing Shang hiding his emotions. '_Shang…_' She thought in dismay bowing her head.

"Look!" Levina pointed to a falcon flying nearby them.

"A falcon?" Lira blinked.

Seeing the falcon, Shang glared. "It's Shan-Yu's bird!" He growled. "Somehow they knew we'd be here!" He got back up on his horse unsheathing his father's sword. "Men! Attack!" He ordered.

Shan-Yu grinned as Shang's army attacked using several of the dragon shaped rockets the army carried to dispose of Shan-Yu's men.

"Alright!" Sora smiled. He then frowned seeing a swarm of Rapid Thruster heartless headed their way. They were tiny yellow Heartless that travelled in packs. The heartless were unaffected by the army's fire power.

"Gyah! They ain't human!" Chein-Po screamed.

"Heartless!" Sora gasped making his keyblade appear.

"Looks like you're going to need a woman's help," Lira jeered at the army. "We're going up front!"

"Preposterous!" Chi-Fu yelled. "You cannot do that." He instantly shut up as he saw Sora, Donald, Goofy, Levina, and Lira fight off the Heartless.

"That's practically suicide!" Shang screamed at them. He fell off his horse as Shan-Yu attacked.

"Captain!" Mulan yelled rushing over to him.

"I'm fine…" Shang groaned as he tried to get up.

Mulan watched Sora and the others fight. "We need to help them." She said in her best male voice.

"Ready the cannons!" Shang ordered.

Mulan grabbed the only dragon shaped rocket which Sora had left behind and dashed off.

"Ping!" Shang screamed. "Where are you going?!"

Mulan stopped at the edge of the mountain where Shan-Yu, the Heartless, and his army was standing.

"Whaddya think you're doing!?" Mushu shouted and yelled in terror as he saw more swarms of Rapid Thrusters heading straight for them. "Yeow! Now they're headed for us!"

"I'm helping Sora!" Mulan said setting the cannon on the snow. She desperately looked for something to light the rocket.

"Don't just sit there, girl!" Mushu yelled. "We need to light this candle!"

"I need some flint.." Mulan lightly panicked and then grabbed Mushu.

"Hey what are you doing!?" Mushu yelled.

"Light this up now!" Mulan urged pressing hard on her guardian so that he would light of the rocket.

Within moments the rocket began to fizzle blasting off taking Mushu with it and crashing into the snowy mountain in front of them.

Shang and the rest of his army watched jaw dropped as to what was going on.

"That little – what does he think he's doing?!" Yao wondered in disbelief at Mulan's actions.

Mulan fell to her knees and screamed as the Heartless turned on her.

"Mulan!" Sora screamed rushing over to help her. He swung his keyblade at the Heartless giving time for Mulan to get up.

"Is she ok?" Levina raced over to Sora.

"I think so," Sora replied helping Mulan to her feet. "C'mon you can do it."

"…We have to get out of here…" Mulan mumbled quietly.

"Huh?" Sora blinked confused.

"What does she mean by that?" Donald wondered.

Suddenly everyone heard a terrible rumble coming from the mountain in front of them. The rocket that hit the mountain caused an unsuspecting avalanche heading straight towards them, Shan-Yu, his army, and the Heartless.

"What the…?!" Donald and Goofy gasped.

"That doesn't sound good." Levina frowned.

"Get moving!" Lira ordered and started running.

"AVALANCHE!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy screamed in terror running for their lives.

Sora helped Mulan as quickly as he could back to the army. He stopped as he saw Levina panting heavily as a few stray Heartless were still left.

"Levina!" Sora shouted handing Mulan over to Donald and Goofy. The boy bravely rushed over to her grabbing her hand tightly. "Let's go!" He urged her.

Together the two ran trailing behind Lira, Donald and Goofy. The icy avalanche crept closer sliding down the path.

"We're not going to make it!" Levina screamed tightly clutching her wayfinder around her neck.

"Don't worry," Sora reassured her. "No matter what, we're going to make it out alive! That's a promise." His words were muffled by the thunderous snowy rocks falling on everyone and everything that was in its path burying them all in an icy prison.

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun... I'll have a new update soon :D **

**Review :) **


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